Harry Potter and the Assassin's Creed
by BeeUtifulgirl
Summary: After an unpleasant accident with Rebecca's "Baby", the modern day assassins and Harry, Ron and Hermione find themselves thrown into the past and an adventure none of them will ever forget. Rated due to swearing and mild violence.
1. Chapter 1

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Hi! I've kind of stepped outside my usual course with this story. I actually split the writing of this crossover with a friend of mine, who is posting it on Deviant Art. She's the expert on Assassin's Creed, I provided the Harry Potter stuff. But that's not to say that we didn't write for the others' characters; it's pretty much an even split. We had a lot of fun writing this. It started as a few brief lines in an email and sort of exploded from there. We hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One

The building was made of concrete, short and squat-looking, sitting unobtrusively between its neighboring buildings. Hermione glanced down at the parchment again, checking the address against the number etched in the cement wall. "This seems to be the place," she said with a sigh.

"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Ron said, casting a wary eye over the structure. Honestly, the front façade could rival Grimmauld Place for its bleak impression. "And Lupin is sure that these people are going to help us?"

"That's not what he said, at all," Hermione said. "Weren't you listening?"

"Save it," Ron said. "Just go over it again."

"Okay," She said, pushing her hair out of her face. "These people- who call themselves Assassins- are being targeted by the Death Eaters and the new group that has allied itself with them, right?"

"Yeah I got that part."

"So we're here to see if the Death Eaters have a reason to be attacking them; information, powerful magical artifacts. Things like that. Harry, where are you going?" While Hermione had been speaking, Harry had walked around to the side of the building, inspecting the wall behind a bramble of sorry-looking bushes.

"I think there's a way in through here," he called, tracing the almost invisible crack in the wall with his eyes. "And as we can't get through the front…" he trailed off, gesturing at the boarded up doors. "Come on." With that, he gave the door an almighty shove, and stumbled into a dark stairwell.

"So let me get this straight..." Desmond said looking skeptical."This Voldemort guy can send you messages through the mark on your forehead?" The three newcomers had just finished explaining everything to them. Most of it sounded like gibberish. Honestly, a hidden magical community in the center of London? Desmond wasn't convinced, though it seemed that Rebecca and Lucy were.

"Yes," Harry said warily.

"Do you also pick up WIFI?"

"Maybe through his teeth," Lucy piped up.

"At least you aren't stuck with a gang of Americans," Shaun snorted, "I never have anyone to share tea with."

"What is it with you and tea?" Desmond snapped, head whirling to face Shaun.

"Wait, this is your hideout?" Harry asked cautiously, "So...who are you hiding from?"

"Your worst nightmare," Rebecca growled, not turning any attention from Baby, who had just recently started malfunctioning.

"Abstergo," Lucy replied curtly, "and who are YOU hiding from?"

"Oh, I dunno," Ron started with strained sarcasm, "the ENTIRE magical world?"

Shaun's tea came right out his nose.

"Oh grow up." Lucy snapped, fixing Shaun with a withering glare, watching him wipe himself off. "There's no use arguing over something like this- we're really all in the same boat here." The other six stared at her incredulously. She sniffed. "Of course, we're not going to mention the vast difference between a war that has lasted some twenty odd years and an epic, centuries-long conflict between good and indescribable evil."

"Cuz that would just be petty," Harry snapped with biting sarcasm.

"Exactly," she answered her voice dignified."We're not here to argue over who's making too much of a few men wearing dresses and waving wooden sticks around. No, siree. "

"You're right," Harry said, "after all, I've heard horrifying stories about how you suffer here. The stuff of nightmares, honestly." He turned to Ron, eyes wide. "Did you know that Shaun here has been forced to even go so far as to _drink tea alone_?"

"Just thinking about it is almost enough to break a man." Ron said the telltale waver of laughter in his voice."Can you just imagine trying to endure that?"

"Impossible, really."

"You little brats!" Rebecca slammed her fist on Baby's delicate cushions, which put a damper on the point she was trying to make. The technician stood up, fists clenched and whirled around to face the wide-eyed teenagers.

"You think because you can wave a stick around and mumble some magic words-"

"Hey, hey," Desmond grasped Rebecca's arm firmly, "this doesn't have to get ugly!"

"No, honestly, let her continue," Harry approached the animus casually; "I enjoy being yelled at."

"I worked my heart out to get Baby working!" Rebecca cried, her voice thick with frustration, "then these assholes just prance on in and wave their little sticks and BOOM! The animus shuts down!"

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room as Rebecca sniffed indignantly.

"Well, you don't have to get all upset about it..." Ron mumbled.

"Rebecca," Shaun drawled, "as much as I hate to blaspheme your precious, ah, baby- I hardly believe that it was their presence that caused the animus to malfunction...again."

"What are you suggesting?" Rebecca asked dangerously.

"Oooh, Shaun," Lucy winced, "tread lightly."

"Can I just ask what the er- baby does?" Hermione asked, her hand slightly raised. Rebecca looked scandalized.

"What does it do?" she repeated, hysterical. "It's only the greatest invention that there ever was! It's only the most ingenious, revolutionary piece of mastery ever imagined since the days of the great Leonardo himself!" She drew herself up to her full height of four ft, eleven inches, and turned, small and furious on Shaun. "And it DOES NOT malfunction!" She grabbed a wrench off the floor and stormed off to comfort her faulty brainchild.

There was a short silence.

Hermione turned to Desmond, who was staring shell-shocked after the young mechanic."So what does it do?"

"The animus," Shaun inhaled, steadying his somewhat shaken tone, "Is a wonder of modern science, enabling the user to-"

"Muggle science," Ron grumbled, "That's what I need, another lecture in muggle science."

"Please, Ron," Hermione tsked the bored red-head in annoyance.

"-view the memories of his or her ancestors," Shaun continued curtly, "via DNA strands."

"So let me get this straight," Harry rubbed his temples, "If I were to sit in that chair and hook myself up, so to speak, I could access the memories of anyone in my family bloodline?"

"Yes," Rebecca snorted, "Of course you could. Cuz it's not like WE'RE using the animus for anything IMPORTANT!"

"Even my father?" Harry asked softly.

"I don't see why not," Lucy nodded. A cry of pain disrupted the conversation as Rebecca shocked herself on one of the animus' many wires. The mechanic was then oddly quiet.

"Erm...Rebecca?" Desmond approached Baby nervously, "is...is everything alright?"

"Oh that wasn't good." Rebecca said quietly.

"What wasn'-" Ron began, but was cut off when all the lights suddenly went out, plunging them all into darkness. A sudden ringing silence indicated that the many whirring, blinking and buzzing machines around them had stopped.

"What did you do?" hissed Shaun, rounding on Rebecca. She shook her head, and then realized he wouldn't be able to see her.

"It wasn't me," she whispered instead, "baby runs on a completely different circuit. Something's up." She hadn't even finished her sentence before distant voices could be heard outside the shelter. Without prompting, every single one of them drew various weapons.

"Templars" hissed Lucy.

"No," Harry whispered, ears straining. "Those are Death Eaters."

"How do you-"

"I just know." He said shortly, the scar on his forehead burning painfully. He rubbed at it, trying to think."We've got to get out of here."

"They must've tracked us here," Hermione whispered fiercely.

"Who tracked what where?" Desmond replied angrily, though equally as quiet.

"Hold on guys, I'm gonna initiate Baby's backup protocol," Rebecca hissed, working cautiously through the thick darkness.

"No, don't-" Harry tried to stop the Assassin but was cut off by an incredible burning in his forehead- the door of the apartment had been blown clean off its hinges.

"Backup would be nice, NOW, Beccar!" Shaun whispered anxiously.

"Got it!" Rebecca yelled, whooping as the animus lit up with an eerie blue light.

"There!" An unrecognizable voice yelled, pointing to the now illuminated group with his wand. The Assassins and Wizards were quickly surrounded by a circle of dark-robed sorcerers.

"They ARE Templars!" Desmond growled, his hidden blade sliding smoothly down his sleeve. He would've lunged, but Lucy grabbed his arm. Glancing around- he saw Rebecca had grabbed Ron, Shaun had grabbed Harry, and Hermione had grabbed Desmond's other arm.

"You're shitting me!" Desmond cried before the entire room was purged in whiteness.


	2. Chapter 2

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Two

The Firenze marketplace was in high spirits. Though carnival had been over for nearly a month, jugglers and acrobats still performed to the delight of the city children. Vendors clamored for attention, shouting their wares to passersby. Old men drank in the outdoor pubs, arguing good-naturedly over politics and the ways of life. Young boys flirted; mothers tutted; pickpocketers dashed through the alleyways and in and around carts.

Ezio Auditore Da Firenze watched the city thrive from his comfortable perch atop one of the city's many buildings. The golden sunlight beat down upon them all, a friendly warmth. He sighed happily, sure that nothing on earth could possibly ruin a day as perfect as this.

"OH MOTHER F****G SH****T CRAP F***K!"

Ezio blinked. Twice.

"For the love of- would you get off me?" Ron sputtered as he vainly attempted to squirm out from under the twitching mechanic. Ezio slowly turned to face the two ridiculous strangers behind him with dazed eyes. Rebecca sprang up and dusted herself off, making sure her headphones were securely attached before realizing she was being watched. Letting Ron fend for himself, she gasped and slowly raised a finger to point at the legend before her. Ezio's eyes darted nervously as he took a step forward.

"I hope you'll pardon me for being so blunt, signora," Ezio said quickly, "but it would be really nice if you didn't scream right now."

"Hey, I know who you are..!" Rebecca whispered as her mouth twisted into her unique excited grin, "oh my god! I think I just perfected the animus!"

"You wot?" Ron grunted, finally bothering to pull himself off the ground. His eyes fell on the white hooded stranger with curiosity. Warily, his hand reached for his wand.

"What are you two doing up here?" The Assassin frowned, gesturing to the height- about a three story drop. "I thought it was pretty obvious the guards don't care much for civilians up here."

"Hmm...But that can't be right..." Rebecca completely ignored the befuddled Italian, tapping her foot and placing her hands on her hips in concentration, "Neither of us has Desmond's DNA, so...what's anchoring the memory? Unless..." Rebecca's eyes widened.

"What?" Ron asked anxiously, "What's going on, exactly?"

"I think Desmond's here somewhere," Rebecca muttered, "along with everyone else who was in the room at the time..."

"But...that would mean..." Ron's brow furrowed as he thought- then he took gasped when he reached the answer: "We've got Death Eaters runnin' around with us, in whatever messed up city we're in!"

"Firenze," Ezio grumbled, not taking well to being ignored, "You're in Firenze."

It was Ron's turn to blink."What, like the centaur?" He stared dumbfounded at the man before him before seeming to suddenly realize his surroundings. He stared over the stone ledge of the roof, shocked to find himself nearly twenty feet above what looked like a bustling medieval market place. His stomach dropped as he came to grips with reality. He turned angrily to Rebecca.

"You know, in all that time you were going on about that muggle machine of yours, it might have been a good idea to mention that it has time-turning abilities as well."

"What's a muggle?"

"Are you listening?" Ron yelled, losing his temper. "Look!" He pointed down into the crowd of renaissance-era citizens. "I may not be the smartest bloke on the face of the earth, but even I can see that your ruddy contraption has sent us to the bleeding 16th century!"

"Fifteenth," Rebecca corrected automatically. Ron stared at her, incredulously. "And for your information, Ginger," she said, poking him in the chest, "You and your little wand-waving friends were the ones who screwed up the animus in the first place. This. Is. your. fault." she punctuated each word of the last sentence with a jab to Ron's collar bone.

"Eh...scusi?" Ezio said hesitantly.

"What?" the two snapped angrily.

"What in G-d's name are you talking about?"

Harry groaned, his head pounding. He opened his eyes, the flagstones of a sunlit courtyard looming before him. He sat up gingerly, looking around. The empty courtyard was walled in on three sides by stone houses, with clotheslines creating something of a web in between each villa. Feeling unnerved by the sudden peace and silence, he stood up, clutching his wand tightly. Where were the others?

"Agh," Shaun groaned- Harry's head whirled to the right, "I'm going to feel that in the morning..."

Upon seeing the Assassin Harry relaxed a bit- but not too much. Painfully, the two climbed to their feet; then began looking around with wide eyes.

"Now this is new," Shaun said thoughtfully, "Rebeccar's been developing something secretly, I see."

"Where are we?" Harry's eyes narrowed.

"Fifteenth century Italy," Shaun replied distractedly, "Though I don't think we've actually travelled in time, per se. I think we're just viewing a memory from a different angle."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Harry smirked mischievously and before the older man could do anything-

"Excuse me, miss," Harry stopped a young woman in a scarlet dress in the street, "Do you know what year it is?"

The Italian stared at him with a confused expression.

"1479," She replied cautiously, thickly accented, "…didn't you know?"

"Right, thanks then," Harry nodded and gave her a pat on the back, setting her back on her way. The wizard turned around to find a very bewildered Shaun.

"Well," he said hesitantly, "This is...ah..."

"Your machine wasn't supposed to do this, was it?" Harry asked, eyebrow raised.

"Uh, no," Shaun rubbed his chin, "no, it's not..."

"We're going to have to find the others," Harry said tersely.

"And how would you suggest we do that? Florence is about the size of London! You think we're just going to run into them down the street?"

"Well we're not going to find them just standing around here like idiots," Harry pointed out, barely keeping the edge out of his voice. "In any case, we need to keep moving. The Death Eaters may have been caught up in the explosion." He set off without another glance backward. Shaun rolled his eyes and scrambled after the dark haired boy.

They set off down the cobbled, crowded streets, drawing stares from all sides. It was their 21st century clothing, Harry guessed. It was only after two street lengths that Harry realized they were being followed. The culprit was a young man, light haired, medium height with a permanent, slightly vacant look on his face. He was definitely tailing them, however. He didn't look dangerous but...

He nudged Shaun, and gestured to their shadow furtively. Shaun caught on rather quicker than Harry expected, considering his increasingly low opinion of the Assassin's intelligence. He nodded, showing he understood, and the two of them dropped back until they stood on either side of the man.

"Three... two... one" they leapt at him.

Without arousing too much suspicion, Shaun and Harry managed to pull the man into a secluded alley where they could begin the interrogation.

"Why were you following us?" Harry hissed.

"I wasn't, signore, honestly," The man stuttered, his eyes growing wider, "I was actually looking for a friend of mine..."

Shaun squinted at the man's features- frizzy, dirty blonde hair- large, bright blue eyes, a red cloak nestled on his shoulders, and of course- a red beret!

"Blimey!" Shaun slapped his forehead for not remembering sooner, "You're Leonardo da Vinci!"

"THE Leonardo?" Harry asked quickly, shocked.

"Ehm," Leonardo straightened his beret nervously, "I am...do I know you, amici?"

"I am so sorry about this, Mister da Vinci," Shaun groaned and patted the bewildered painter on the shoulder.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Leonardo expression switched from fear to curiosity quite easily, "Why are you wearing such strange clothes?"

"That's our own business," Harry snapped.

Leonardo shrugged, "anyway, have you two seen my friend? About yay high-" Leo put his hand on the top of his beret and did a sort of salute, "white hood?"

Before anyone could answer, said man fell from the sky.

Ezio landed precisely in a conveniently placed haystack on the side of the alley. With a triumphant huff, he clambered out of the straw and looked around at the three frozen men that he had just dropped in on. It only took him a split second to misjudge the situation. What he saw was two strangers flanking Leonardo in a manner that was obviously meant to intimidating. Strange Leonardo may have been but no one was going to threaten his friend while he stood by. No one could blame him for overreacting, could they?

With an inarticulate battle cry, he leapt at Shaun, knocking him away from the artist. Shaun grunted in pained surprise, falling back into the stone wall, while the assassin pummeled him.

"Hey!" He cried, trying to shield himself from the blows. "Stop!" Both Leonardo and Harry leapt forward, trying to pull Ezio off of him.

"Ezio! Basta!" Leo yelled, tugging at his arm. Ezio finally pulled back, swearing in rapid Italian under his breath.

"What the hell was that for?" Shaun demanded, rubbing a particularly painful spot on his arm. Ezio shrugged carelessly. "Don't give me that," Shaun snapped. "I demand an explanation."

"Just forget it, Shaun," Harry said, observing Ezio with a calculating eye. "He's obviously not a Death Eater or a Templar. Just calm down."

"Easy for you to say, magic- boy," retorted the furious assassin.

"Templar?" Ezio piped up.

"Yes, as I was-" Shaun stopped mid-sentence to study his attacker. He felt his glasses slip down his face as his jaw dropped slightly.

"You think I'm a templar?" Ezio asked, faintly amused.

"Shaun, do you know him?" Harry turned to Shaun, eyeing his face warily.

"Yes," Shaun said softly, "You're Desmond's ancestor; Ezio...Ezio Audi...Audi-something."

"Auditore," Ezio sniffed indignantly, "And how is it you know my name, yet I do not know yours?" Ezio then turned to Leonardo accusingly,

"And what were you doing in a dark alley with two strangers that could easily be mistaken for muggers?"

"Ezio," Leonardo made a slight effort to calm down the angry assassin, "I was merely looking for YOU, and these two thought I was following them." Leonardo stroked his beard thoughtfully, "it appears they are being chased..."

"By Templars?" Ezio asked suddenly.

"Possibly," Harry replied, "But we definitely know we're being tracked by Death Eaters."

"Yeah, we never settled the whole, 'magical-chase-thing' business, you know?" Shaun said to Harry hotly, "The one that blew our doors off?"

"Magical?" Leonardo asked curiously.

"And you're sure it's not Templars?" Ezio asked warily, "Because I know some have been moving about the city lately." At this Ezio folded his arms and looked thoughtful, "it was strange though. They were dressed as traditional Templars described by the codex- black robes, black hoods-"

"Wait!" Harry interrupted, somewhat fearfully. At Ezio's cocked eyebrow, he re-established his voice, "You saw Death Eaters running around? Where?"

"If your Death Eaters are wearing black robes, then yes," Ezio nodded, "Just south of here, I think."

"Well then, off we go," Shaun shrugged, "It was nice meeting you two."

"Yes, here," Leonardo nodded excitedly and handed Shaun a slip of paper, "It's my address. As I said earlier, I find you and your friend here very intriguing."

"We're not up for study." Harry said flatly.

"No, but since you're obviously not from here-" Leonardo began hopefully.

"Give it up, Leonardo," Ezio groaned, "You're always too sweet for your own good."

A few minutes later, the assassin and the wizard left the alley and headed south, hoping to meet with some of the others on the way...

If there was a single childhood dream Hermione would've thought impossible to come to fruition, it would have been being thrown into renaissance era Italy. The sights, smells, dress, and architecture of the city square around her were unmistakable, however. This was, despite all logic, Italy of the fifteenth century.

This is what happens when you mess with Americans, she thought irritably. She looked around the bustling crowd, searching for a familiar face. She brushed self consciously at her robes, feeling distinctly out of place. Ducking her head, she pushed her way towards a cart selling bolts of cloth. The proprietor – a bearded, well-fed man-had a friendly, open face, and -she thought, - as a merchant, had a slight chance of actually understanding English.

She reached the cart with little difficulty, and opened her mouth to speak. The man preempted her, bursting forth with a long string of rapid Italian that she was shocked to discover she understood.

"Ah, a beautiful young woman," he said magnanimously. "What are you looking for today, Madame? We have silks in all colors of the eastern lands, linens like you couldn't imagine! Now, for a special beauty as my lady, we have a color not available in any other city in _Italia-_" He was digging through the contents of the cart, before Hermione cut him off.

"I'm sorry, sir," She said, only mildly surprised now to find herself speaking in fluent Italian. This must be how Harry felt when he spoke Parseltongue, she thought absently. The foreign language came just as naturally to her as English did. "I'm not looking for clothes today. I'm actually looking for my friends…" her voice trailed off as a black shadow passed across her peripheral vision. Her body stiffened in shock. Death Eater.

She turned slowly, not wanting to draw his eye, her hand drifting to the wand hidden in her sleeve. The proprietor frowned.

"My lady?" he said worriedly, "Is something the matter?"

"_Nada_," Hermione said absently, _"Grazi_." She moved away slowly, trying to put as much distance between the Death Eater and herself. To her dismay, however, she saw the black robed figure turn in her direction. She had been spotted. Not waiting for him to start toward her, she all but leapt into the crowd, jostled by the people who were walking every which way. Even as she tried to lose herself in the hustle and bustle, she knew it was useless; her modern clothes and hair would give her away, even on the slim chance that the Death Eater didn't recognize her face.

Glancing back in panic, Hermione could see that the Death Eater had quickened his stride, a smile visible beneath his hood. He was catching up. Employing one of Ron's favorite phrases, she abruptly switched directions, trying to throw him off. The part of her mind that wasn't panicking, listing all the hexes she knew, and trying to plot a way through the press of people briefly commented that Ron would be thrilled that there was an Italian equivalent to-

"Hermione!" she spun around, wondering where the voice had come from. To her infinite relief, she finally spotted Harry, standing with that Shaun fellow and two strangers .Gathering her robes into her left fist, she ran flat out through a gap in the crowd to meet them.

"Harry," She gasped in relief. "Death Eater. There." She pointed behind her, into the brightly colored, teeming crowd. Harry's smile vanished, his hand flying immediately to his wand.

"Did you see who it was?" he asked, squinting into the brightly lit square. Hermione shook her head.

"No, but he saw me." Her friend's frown deepened. "Where's Ron?" Harry shook his head, a gesture to show that he didn't know.

"I had hoped he was with you. We need to find him."

"And everyone else," Shaun put in, unhelpfully.

"Well obviously," Hermione said tensely. "What your friend was doing to that god-forsaken machine of hers…"she added under her breath.

"Wait," The white-robed man said, before Shaun could muster an angry retort. "These friends of yours, was one of them ginger-haired and the other rather short?"

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed. "Where are they?"

The stranger pointed upwards.

Bewildered, Hermione followed his gesture, and saw that he was pointing to the roof of the building next to them. "Wha-?"

"Your friends are quite a rude pair," the Italian said in a bored voice. "I left them sniping at each other on the roof."

"On the roof?" Hermione said disbelievingly, but Harry cut her off.

"Is there a way up?"

"Certainly." He said. "Up the stairs. But the door to the building is in the front." Harry swore under his breath.

"Wait," said Hermione, "Why can't we send Shaun out? They won't recognize _him_." Harry's face brightened. "You're brilliant, Hermione.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Shaun said, "They may not recognize me, but they will certainly figure out that I'm with you. Look at what I'm wearing!" Hermione and Harry shared a glance, then as one, looked at Ezio.

Ezio's face went from passive, to puzzled, and then deteriorated into indignation. "No. No. NO. I won't."

Two minutes later, a white-hooded, pre-Elizabethan clad Shaun ducked out into the Italian sunlight.

A/N: Just a small note: Firenze and Florence are the same place, as are Venezia and Venice.

Italian Translation (such as it is):

Scusi: excuse me

Amici/Amico:Friends/ Friend

Basta: Enough

Italia:Italy

Nada: Nothing

Grazi: Thank you


	3. Chapter 3

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Three

Ron huffed in aggravation and kicked his legs off the edge of the building's roof. Behind him he could hear Rebecca's loud and fervent pacing as she muttered to herself. He rolled his eyes- of all the people to be stuck with; HE had to be stuck with a MUGGLE engineer. He was so busy going over the mess of the situation he didn't immediately notice the familiar heads swimming among the crowd below him. It wasn't until the sun glinted in a strangely uncovered flow of bushy brown hair that he began to realize.

"Hey-" He abruptly stood up, a habit, breaking Rebecca from her trance. "That's Hermione down there! And Harry!" At this Rebecca had joined him.

"Yeah, your friends, right?" Rebecca asked quickly, then her brow furrowed in confusion. "Who're those two people they're with?"

The engineer couldn't shake the feeling that they were somewhat familiar. One stood close to Harry, a sullen look on his tannish face. He seemed underdressed for the time period- wearing only a silk undershirt and black leggings. She noted he wore no shoes. The man next to him, grasping his arm and speaking calmly, wore a red beret and cape that sent the assassin tapping the back of her head, willing the memory to surface.

"We've got to get down there!" Ron interrupted desperately, eyes darting from Rebecca to Hermione.

Rebecca opened her mouth to answer when she was cut off by the thump of boots on shingles. The assassin and the wizard whirled around to see a stranger in a white robe with the hood pulled down. Ron's wand flicked out and he aimed it at the figure threateningly.

"Oi, watch it!" The figure hissed, putting its hands up. Rebecca's eyes widened in realization as she laughed.

"Shaun?" She asked amusedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking," Shaun muttered.

"You know him?" Ron asked bluntly, wand wavering.

"Of course," Rebecca snorted, "You probably don't recognize him in that getup."

"Look, while I'd love to sit up here and chat, I'd really like to be giving a certain pissed-off Italian his clothes back, alright?" Shaun spewed hastily.

Rebecca's jaw dropped, "You mean…" She immediately whirled around and glared at the underdressed man she'd seen earlier.

"You son of a-"

"Yes, no time for that now," Shaun grabbed Rebecca's arm and dragged her towards the stairs, motioning for Ron to follow.

Shaun gingerly held out the folded robe and boots to the indignant assassin, who ripped them out of his grasp violently.

"Thank you very much!" Ezio muttered angrily as he threw on the robe and pulled on his boots faster than the eye could see.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly," she said in exasperation. "We only borrowed them for a few minutes." She turned back to Ron, and opened her mouth to explain. "Rebecca's machine sent us back to-"

"To the fifteenth century, I know" he finished for her. "Somehow I was able to figure that out without your help," he said, but his voice was amused.

"Yes, well, now we're going to have to work out how we're going to get back," Hermione said. As one, their entire group turned to face Rebecca. She threw up her hands.

"Hey," she said warningly. "This was _not_ my fault." Ron rolled his eyes, muttering,  
"Not this again."

"Really?" Harry said testily, "Because I don't remember any of the rest of us fiddling with a very powerful machine with circuit connections to the Renaissance."

"That shows all you know, boy," Rebecca said.

"What's that supposed to mean-" Harry started, but Shaun cut him off.

"Fascinating as an inquisition like this may be," he said loudly, "I can't imagine it's helping us get back to the twenty first century, hmm?"

"And we still need to find Desmond and Lucy" Rebecca said.

"There are more of you?" Leonardo asked excitedly.

"Not if we don't find them soon," the engineer said morbidly, turning to scan the street beyond their alleyway. "We've still got Templars and those Death Eater people running around after us."

"Well, staying here is not going to be helpful." Harry said. "We need to go someplace more sec-"

"MY STUDIO!" Leonardo blurted out. The other six turned to face him. "Is available," he finished in a quieter voice. The others exchanged looks, and then Harry shrugged.

"Alright."

The carved wooden door to the studio swung open violently as the bright eyed genius rambled in-coherently in excited Italian. The assorted group of wizards and assassins filed in and made themselves comfortable in the foyer as they discussed the situation.

"I'll go get refreshments!" Leonardo announced, beaming. He disappeared quickly to the back room.

"If you don't mind me asking," Ezio aimed his question at Harry, leaning casually against a windowsill, "where did you all come from?"

"We don't rightly know, honestly," Harry admitted truthfully, "it's important that we make it back, but we should also take care of those Death Eaters that followed us."

"Death Eaters?" Ezio repeated curiously, trying out the strange phrase on his tongue. It didn't sit well.

"Yes, we never covered the whole 'being chased by magical authority' thing," Shaun said irritably.

"It's not authority," Ron snorted, "far from it."

"Gah!" Harry shrieked suddenly, jumping three feet and swatting away a bashful Leonardo, "get away from me!"

"Mi despiaci," Leonardo muttered, eyes darting to the floor, "I just wanted to see that interesting scar on your forehead. Fascinating."

"Bagianate, Leonardo!" Ezio scoffed, "it's no different than mine!"

"Actually there is a story behind the scar," Hermione pointed out, "but that's not why we're here."

"Yeah, why ARE we here?" Ron asked tersely.

"I don't think we should make any moves until we find Lucy and Desmond," Rebecca said, "It'll give me time to think, and otherwise your Death Eater pals might attack them, as they're dressed modernly."

"Well then," Hermione nodded, "who shall we send?"

Unanimously, eyes gathered on Ezio.

"No." He said abruptly.

"He's YOUR descendant," Shaun pointed out.

"NO," Ezio's fist slammed against the wall, "I figure I've done more than enough for a group of strangers!"

"You have more friends?" Leonardo perked up, "Wonderful! I'll go find them for you!"

"On second thought," Ezio shoved Leonardo back in his seat, "I think I can fit it in."

"You won't be able to go alone though," Hermione grimaced, "If Death Eaters recognized you helped us, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"I beg to differ," Ezio raised his eyebrows, "if you think I'm afraid of tiny men in black robes-"

"I never said you were afraid," Hermione pressed hastily, "but one of us should go with, just to be safe."

"I'll go," Harry nodded, standing up. Ezio looked offended, but said nothing. The wizard and assassin headed for the door, but were intercepted by the great Da Vinci.

"I can't come?" Leonardo begged, enlarged eyes brimming with tears.

"No, mi amico, it's too dangerous." Ezio stated simply, avoiding the puppy eyes.

"Please?" Leonardo smiled sweetly.

"Hey, Leo!" Rebecca called hastily, "Wanna see my watch?"

Leonardo broke his gaze from Ezio, confused. He used this chance to escape.

As the door closed, the only sound that could be heard was the chattering of the entranced genius.

"Why I allow myself to be drawn into your affairs completely escapes me," Ezio grumbled as the two men strolled through the Florence streets.

"Are you going to complain the whole time we're out or will you stop to breathe once in a while?" Harry asked, annoyed. "C'mon." he added bracingly, "Aren't you assassins supposed to help others? Isn't that your whole mission?"

"No," Ezio said, dodging a tiny old woman walking past. "We are Assassins. Our mission is to _assassinate_ people. Templars."

"Yes I picked that up," Harry said. "Not completely thick." He squinted around, in the vain hope that he would simply spot his fellow time travelers in the bustling market square. "Well, we can't just spend the entire time wandering around randomly. Let's see. Everyone else seemed to land in places close to…well," he waved a hand dismissively. "You people."

"Eh?"

"Well, we all ended up within a block of Leonardo, right? And Ron and Rebecca landed on your rooftop. Which makes sense, I suppose. The machine was focused on Desmond's ancestors, right? So…" he thought hard. "And, if they landed near us, we would've seen them…" it suddenly came to him in a flash of insight that Hermione would've been proud of. He stopped. "They could be at your house!"

"Scusi?" Ezio said, coming to a halt in front of the wizard. He had been largely ignoring whatever the man was blathering on about. "What in God's name are you talking about?"

"No," Harry said impatiently. "It makes perfect sense." He set off once again. "Where do you live?" Ezio gave him a doubtful look, but took the lead without a word.

A/N: Italian Translation

Mi despiaci: I'm sorry

Scusi: excuse me

Bagianate: Nonsense


	4. Chapter 4

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Four

Well, Desmond could honestly say that while he hadn't expected something like this to happen, he was not entirely surprised. Really, what with being kidnapped by Abstergo, being subject to all those experiments and reliving the memories of his ancestors, waking up in the fifteenth century really didn't faze him. In fact, he had just thought that this was another foray into Ezio's memory; at least until he had spotted Lucy sprawled across the courtyard stones.

He got slowly to his feet, figuring she would at least want him to wake her. He crouched down gingerly beside her. "Lucy," he called. "Lucy!" She mumbled incoherently and rolled over. Rolling his eyes, Desmond grasped her shoulder, and shook it carefully. "Lucy!" he shouted.

Lucy shot up, so fast that Desmond fell back in alarm. "Get your hands off me, you-" she snarled then noticed him. "Oh, it's you." She rubbed her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, that's a good question." Desmond looked around the courtyard. Why did it look so familiar? He turned back to Lucy in time to see her eyes widen in shock as she took in the scene around her.

"What the-?"

"I know."

"Where the-?"

"I don't know."

"How the-?"

"I don't know."

Lucy stared around, and then got to her feet. "We need to…well, get up." She had noticed Desmond still crouched on the floor. "We need to figure out what happened and where we are."

Desmond climbed to his feet and studied the courtyard they had found themselves in carefully. It seemed exceedingly familiar. A wall netted with a web of morning glories, a marble bench sitting isolated in a corner, a large cedar door marking the entrance to the square building…Suddenly it all came back.

"Lucy!" Desmond gasped, "We're in Pallazo di Auditore!"

"What?" Lucy scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous. Why would we be?"

"I don't know," Desmond admitted, "but this all matches up with what I've seen in Ezio's memories…"

Just as he finished his sentence, the hairs on Desmond's neck tingled. He was being watched. Suddenly, he whirled around and jumped on the figure behind him, hidden blade extending.

"Hey!" The dark haired boy yelled in protest. Desmond recognized the face and scrambled off, sheathing his blade.

"Harry?" Lucy asked, brow knitting in confusion.

"Yeah, we came to find you," Harry panted, gesturing to Ezio- who was staring at Desmond oddly.

"He looks like me." He finally said.

"Yes well, family resemblance and all that," Harry said quickly, grabbing Desmond's arm, "Come on, everyone's waiting at Leonardo's place."

"Wait, everyone?" Lucy repeated as the quartet swiftly left the haunting Pallazo.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. Then his head exploded in a white-hot shard of pain. His hand flew to his scar and he groaned.

"Something wrong?" Desmond asked worriedly, picking up his pace.

Harry glanced around, nearly petrified to see the silhouettes of three Death Eaters following them closely.

"Death Eaters," He muttered to Ezio, who nodded.

"I'll take care of them," the Italian said darkly.

"Wait-!" Harry reached out to grab the assassin, but it was too late. The Auditore had managed to blend in perfectly, evading the young wizard's eyes. Harry cursed under his breath, wiping the sweat off his brow with one hand.

"Where did Ezio go?" Desmond asked firmly.

"Look, I can't tell you right now," Harry said quickly, "Just come with me to Leonardo's studio…"

Desmond looked concerned, but nodded nonetheless. As t he three made their way back to the artist's residence, Harry only hoped he'd be back fast enough to find his Italian friend in one piece.

It was almost too easy to sneak up on the three Death Eaters. He had taken to the relatively low rooftops of this part of the city, tracking the three with an ease born of long years of practice. Ezio had seen their type before: arrogant and dangerous. They joked loudly with each other, boasting about who was going to get that Potter and his "blood-traitor" friends when they found them.

From his higher vantage point, Ezio could see that the roofs were ending as the Death Eaters approached the end of the alley into a small deserted courtyard. Well, he thought with a shrug, now was as good a time as any. He dropped silently from the balcony of a stone house.

He extended the hidden blade of his right hand, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he chose his target. There. The fatter one. Soundlessly, he leapt across the stones and slipped an arm around the man's neck, clamping a hand over his mouth. Before the Death Eater could do more than stiffen in surprise, Ezio slid the knife into his neck. His target slumped to the ground, but the assassin was already moving. He had leapt onto the back of the ginger-haired Death Eater. The man grunted, folding under Ezio's weight. Cursing, Ezio dragged his blade across the man's neck, and rolled off of him.

The last Death Eater had noticed though. With an inarticulate cry, he sent what looked like a flash of red light Ezio's way. Ezio automatically threw himself sideways, and the light missed, leaving a small crater in the stone where his foot had been. _Okay_, Ezio thought, _don't get in the way of the lights_. He careened sideway out of the next flash- green this time- and somersaulting towards the wizard. He felt ridiculous but his momentum carried him within reach. He leapt to his feet, grabbed the man on both sides of his head and slammed the Death Eater in the face with his forehead. The Death Eater groaned and rocked back, disoriented. He tried to bring the stick in his hand around, opened his mouth for another curse, but Ezio was ready for him. He elbowed the man in the face with his left arm, and thrust the blade on his right hand between the man's ribs. The Death Eater's eyes widened behind his mask and he let out a gurgle as blood bubbled from his lips. Ezio watched him collapse with satisfaction.

"You need to calm down," Desmond told the obviously tense wizard sternly, "Ezio can take care of himself."

"Look, it's not like I expect you to understand," Harry snapped, jolting his head up from his pacing suddenly, "but he's gotten himself into a lot more than he realizes."

Lucy laughed, "By helping you? A bunch of random teenagers? Call me crazy, but I think he's been through worse."

Hermione looked hurt, "This is nothing to laugh about, Miss Stillman. Those Death Eaters are lethal."

"What's your point?" Shaun interrupted, tone bored, "You think they're gonna cast some sort of 'magic spell' on 'im?"

"Yes," Hermione gritted her teeth, loosing her patience quickly at the Assassins' arrogance, "Those people out there won't think twice about putting a killing curse on him."

"And as much as I hate to admit," Ron sighed, finally indulging in conversation, "I have a feeling we're going to need his help to get back to the twenty-first century."

"All this talk of magic and time travel," Leonardo stroked his beard thoughtfully, "It's extraordinary…I…I don't know what to say."

Harry stopped his pacing and slammed his fist into his palm- "That's it. I'm going after him."

Hermione stood abruptly, "No, Harry, that's way too dangerous." She moved quickly to his side.

"I'm not going to let him die for us," Harry stated, green eyes burning with determination.

"Even so, we can't risk you going out there. Ezio-"

"-Is wondering why everyone is so worried about him." A cocky voice announced from the doorway.

A/N: Italian Translation

Pallazo di Auditore: Auditore Plaza


	5. Chapter 5

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Five

All eyes in the room turned to the Italian Assassin, who grinned slyly. Silence.

"What?" Ezio frowned, spreading his arms, "Is there something on my face?"

"You took down THREE Death Eaters?" Ron stuttered, eyes bulging.

Ezio shifted his weight uncomfortably, "Was I not supposed to…?"

"They're near impossible to kill!" Hermione exclaimed, jaw dropping.

"Well, obviously," Shaun smirked, pushing up his glasses, "Little men wearing black robes and waving sticks didn't do much to stop a full-fledged assassin."

"Oh, shut up, Shaun," Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Tell us the whole thing," Ron grabbed Ezio's arm, causing the assassin to jump, "I wanna know how you did it, from start to finish!"

The now complete group made themselves comfortable in the studio as Ezio recapped his latest adventure (with a few exaggerations of course).

"I see…" Hermione's finger ran up and down her lips thoughtfully. She looked up at the assassin meaningfully, "the first light you saw- the red one? That was a stunning spell."

"Meaning…?" Ezio smiled helplessly.

"If that'd hit you," Harry explained, "You'd have been knocked out."

"That second light, the green one-" Hermione continued.

"Yes, that looked lethal." Ezio nodded.

"That would've killed you." Hermione finished solemnly.

Ezio snorted, "Baggianate, a bit of light? Burning me I would understand, but how could it kill me?"

"Actually," Rebecca frowned, "scientifically…it could work."

"Yes," Leonardo looked equally concerned, "assuming the wand could project any amount of energy-"

"The point is-" Harry began, "What happened to you was extremely lucky and I doubt it will happen again. You had the element of surprise this time-"

"I ALWAYS have the element of surprise." Ezio interrupted firmly.

"Maybe so," Harry replied tersely, "but do not underestimate them. The second you do, you will be dead."

"Are you attempting to lecture me?" Ezio laughed bitterly, "What do you know about me, ragazzo?"

"Nothing," Harry said simply, "But I do know Voldemort and his Death Eaters. And I've lost too many people to their forces to assume that 'a bit of light' won't hurt me." He turned to address the room at large. "As we're obviously all going to have to deal with this for the time being, you should know Death Eaters will not hesitate to kill you- I don't know about Templars, but most Death Eaters _volunteered_ to join Voldemort. Whether it was because they believe in his ideas, or because it was the best way to satisfy their own personal desire to maim and kill varies from person to person." The faces around him had sobered, but a few, including Ezio's, still looked skeptical.

"Alright," the assassin said dismissively, "So they are…prone to violence. They still die when a blade is shoved into their throats."

"Sure," Harry said, frustration leaking into his voice. "If you are lucky enough to get that close without stepping in the path of the Unforgivable Curses they're so fond of."

"Unforgivable?" Lucy asked. Hermione spoke up.

"There are three curses that are so damaging that they carry a life sentence in Azkaban- Wizarding prison- when used on another human: The Imperius Curse- which allows total control of the victim's behavior- similar to hypnotizing; The Cruciatus Curse- which inflicts agonizing pain; and The Avada Kedavra- which kills instantly." Shaun let out a low whistle.

"They believe that people without magical blood or born of non-magic blood are less than human." She went on, staring directly at Ezio, who was lounging in one of Leonardo's chairs, his feet on the table_._ "Harry's right. Nothing's stopping them from killing you."

"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up. "Whatever you say." He rolled his eyes and turned to the artist, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during the exchange. "Mi Amico," he said, "Did you say something earlier about refreshments?" he spotted a nearby bottle of wine. "Ah, belissima." The room was tense and silent as he poured himself a glass of red wine. "What I can't understand," he said as he set the bottle down, the anger in his voice thinly disguised, " is this: you forced me to go help out your friends, and when I did just that, you tell me that I should not be engaging with the Death Eaters at all- or did I miss the point?" Hermione's jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

"We… well…didn't mean…" she stuttered before Harry cut her off.

"Alright, I guess we got a little carried away" He said. "And I can see where that seems….inconsistent. We weren't saying that you shouldn't have killed those Death Eaters, and we're not disregarding your help." He rubbed his forehead, trying to gather his thoughts. "We really only objected to you going off on your own."

"That is how I work," The assassin said, coldly. "If you cannot accept-"

"I know," Harry said. " And I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his untidy hair. "You just worried us, that's all." There was a short, awkward silence.

"Alright," Ezio said, his voice genuine. "Wine?" he held up his glass invitingly.

"Sure," Harry said, grabbing his own glass off of the table.

A/N: We begin to see the wine motif. You'll see.

Italian Translation:

Bagianate: Nonsense

Ragazzo/Ragazzi: Kid/ Kids

Belissima: Beautiful

Amici/Amico:Friends/ Friend


	6. Chapter 6

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Six

For the first time since they had arrived, the atmosphere in the studio was relaxed. Rebecca and Lucy sat off in one corner coming up with theories on how to get back to the future, while to entertain themselves, everyone else ate Leonardo's food.

"What year is this wine from?" Ezio asked dryly, winding his fingers around the bottles neck.

"1475," Leonardo replied uneasily as he watched the red liquid fill another cup. Ezio handed the cup to Ron, who chugged it down greedily.

"I've never had muggle wine before," he blurted, "especially not _ancient _muggle wine…"

"Oh please," Hermione scoffed, "there's not much difference between muggle wine and wizard wine."

"Have you two come up with anything over there?" Harry called to the two assassins anxiously.

Lucy sighed, "I'm afraid not. It's tough work- I'm still not sure how we got here." The blonde shrugged and poured herself a cup of wine.

"Great," Ron frowned into his cup, "Always count on muggle science to screw you over."

"You know you could probably do more to help than complain," Shaun snapped and gulped down a quarter of his cup.

"Like what?" Ron retorted, "Your machine got us into this!"

"Boys, I think we're getting a bit tipsy!" Hermione separated the two warily.

"Hermione, no one's getting-"

"I'VE GOT IT!"

The loud cry nearly forced everyone out of their seats. All eyes in the room turned to Rebecca, who was beaming as though she had just won the lottery.

"I know how to get back!" She repeated, panting.

"Great, now tell the rest of us." Harry nodded.

"Okay," Rebecca took a deep breath, "The animus won't reboot and it won't let us leave- that only happens when it's currently accessing a memory sequence."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked helplessly.

"I wasn't done!" She muttered, "I think the only way for us to get back is to finish the memory block we're on."

"So basically," Desmond simplified, "We have to help Ezio finish whatever he's doing- and then the animus will let us leave?"

"Yup!" Rebecca grinned.

"When we left, the animus was set to sequence six…" Lucy mused, "That's 1479-1480. That's the year Leonardo da Vinci moved his studio to Venice and Ezio came with because-"

"Hey!" Ezio broke in, face contorted in confusion, "What in G-d's name do you mean by my 'memories'?"

"And how did you know I was leaving for Venice?" Leonardo asked curiously.

"We're from the future," Shaun replied, "We know everything."

"Since Ezio and Desmond's DNA is the only thing keeping us here," Rebecca warned sternly, "if we get too far away from either of them the animus will de-synchronize."

"What happens then?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Then the animus shuts down- reboots- and…" Rebecca bit her lip, "when it restarts we could be anywhere in Desmond's bloodline. We'd be separated, definitely. Across hundreds of years."

"So basically," Harry said, "don't get de-synchronized."

"Will someone please explain to me in simple Italian what just happened?" Ezio groaned.

"What just happened, Ezio," Desmond smiled, "is that we are going with you on your road trip to Venice."

"No you're not!" Ezio yelled, "You really are not! You can't!"

"It's the only way for us to get home," Harry shrugged, "and besides, I think you'll find us useful."

"I need to get out of this madhouse," the assassin moaned and stood abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Leonardo asked.

"To see Lorenzo," Ezio replied, heading for the door.

"Lorenzo?" Hermione repeated, puzzled. "Wait, like Medici? Like THE Lorenzo di Medici?"

"…Yes…" Ezio's eyes darted around uncomfortably.

"You shouldn't go outside alone," Hermione was on his arm in a split second, "a Death Eater might recognize you! I should go with!"

"Hermione…" Ron groaned.

"Please, Harry?" Hermione whined, "I want to meet Medici!"

"I'm glad you're asking me!" Ezio muttered, slapping his forehead, "what ever happened to my privacy…"

"Alright," Harry sighed, "but be back soon."

"I'm just going to tell him I'm leaving to track the Templars in Venezia," Ezio cried, "I'm not even going to be there that long!"

"It's long enough for me!" Hermione giggled and dragged Ezio out the door.

Leonardo sighed and put his hands on his hips.

"Well," he said, "who wants to help me prepare the wagon?" Silence met his offer. The artist seemed to sag as it lengthened, watching the others stare into space or fiddle with their clothing. "Oh, come, come," He said, pleading, "I'll pay you?"

It took a few more minutes of cajoling, but eventually Rebecca got to her feet. "Okay," she said with a sigh, "What do you want us to do?" Leonardo beamed.

"Well, the first priority is to pack provisions."

"Sorry?" Desmond asked.

"Things to eat."

"Oh," Desmond said, looking puzzled, "I thought you said provisions." Lucy rolled her eyes, straightening up.

"We can take care of that," she said, nodding at Desmond, "You want us to go to the market, or do you have enough here?"

"How long will it take us to _get_ to Venice?" Rebecca piped up.

"It's a short journey," Leonardo began.

"Oh good," Ron said under his breath.

"-Merely a week or two, if the weather is good." Jaws dropped all around him.

"…okay," Lucy said, "We are definitely going to stop at the market." She pulled an unwilling Desmond toward the front door. "We'll be careful," she said wearily as Harry opened his mouth to protest. The pair stepped out into the Italian sunshine. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Help Leonardo" she added as she slammed the door behind them.

Leonardo turned back to the group. "Well." He said. He looked around the studio and grimaced. 

"I think we should attend to the paintings first."

The packing quickly got underway. Under the nearly obsessive direction of the nervous artist, Shaun and Rebecca carefully rolled and wrapped up the pile of sketching, paintings and diagrams. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were banished to the back room to pack up Leonardo's clothing and sundries.

Shaun cast a disturbed eye over yet another drawing of an undressed model. "Does he think, perhaps that clothing that people walk around naked all the time? Because this is beginning to become frightening." 

"Oh, for G-d's Sake," Rebecca said, snatching the drawing out of his hands. ("Careful with that!" Leonardo cried out.) "It's the _Renaissance_. It's what the artists do."

"You'd think that, being the supposed period of Enlightenment of all of Europe, they would have learned to make clothes now."

"They…" Rebecca scoffed. "It's about studying the human form and how the body works."

"Sure it is," Shaun said, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Didn't most artists end up stealing bodies from graveyards to use as models?" Leonardo cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I think I will just go check on the others," he said, all but fleeing the room. Shaun snorted in laughter, watching the blond man scuttle out. Then he turned back to the pile, only to meet Rebecca's death glare.

"What?" he asked defensively.

Harry and Ron, meanwhile, were perplexed over the faintly foppish Renaissance styles that filled Leonardo's wardrobe. "It's not that bad," Harry shrugged, folding a cape into the trunk that stood on the floor between them. "They're all the sort of thing Nearly-Headless- Nick would wear. If he was able to change clothes, that is."

"Still doesn't make them any less funny looking," Ron insisted, crumpling up a velvet vest with massive sleeves.

"No," Harry conceded, "But it's not like we haven't seen worse. I mean, just look at the Quidditch World Cup." He smiled, remembering the disastrous outfits that had resulted from the various wizards attempting to dress up as muggles. If he remembered correctly, hadn't there been a man walking around in a woman's nightgown?

Ron laughed appreciatively, grabbing a pair of what looked like pantaloons and stuffing them down into the trunk. "Merlin," he said, standing up and cracking his back, "How much clothing does one man need?"

"We're almost finished," Harry said, grabbing another shirt.

"Good," came a voice at the door. Leonardo stood in the doorway, fidgeting slightly. "Then, if you don't mind, I'll just go out to pack my machine…" his voice trailed off as he turned awkwardly back around.

"Machine?" Harry and Ron exchanged glances. They shoved the rest of the clothing haphazardly into the trunk, closed the lid with difficulty, and followed the man into the main room. Rebecca and Shaun had finished with the last of the drawings and were watching as Leonardo struggled with a confused contraption made of wooden beams and stiff paper. He managed to heft the entire thing almost to the center of the room, before he noticed that he was being observed.

"What have you got there, Leo?" Shaun asked, trying to hide his smile.

"Eh…" He said, sweating slightly, "Does someone want to go out and bring the wagon and horses around?" The other four exchanged looks.

"I'll go," Rebecca said.

"Yeah, me too," Harry added.

The stables were small, dark and cool compared with the bright hot day outside. With a little prodding, the horses were coaxed into their reigns and out of their stalls. Then Harry's eyes fell upon the wagon.

"This is it?" He said, eyeing the tiny vehicle with concern. "Where's the rest of it?" Rebecca came to stand next to him. She swore under her breath.

"Where are we all going to sit?" she asked. "Is it even road-worthy?" Harry shrugged helplessly.

"Guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said.

"Yeah, if we ever make it there."

Together, they managed to hook the horses up to the wagon, which seemed even smaller next to the two beasts, neither of which were even that big themselves.

"Somehow," Harry said as they led the horses out to the front of the house, "I'm getting the feeling that we're not going to enjoy this trip."

A/N: Wow, no Italian in this one.


	7. Chapter 7

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me

Chapter Seven

"Ah, Ezio my boy…" Lorenzo nodded as the Auditore bowed respectfully.

"The Pazzi are dead," he said quietly, "every last one of them."

"Of course," Lorenzo sighed and glanced away wistfully, "I never believed I could desire the death of others so badly."

"Nor I…" Ezio shook his head, gaze drooping slightly.

"What will you do now, figlolio?" Lorenzo asked friendily, clapping a hand on the young man's shoulder in a fatherly gesture.

"There are more I must hunt, signore," Ezio glared at the older man, determined, "they are already sinking their claws into the heart of Venezia."

"No…" Lorenzo sighed sadly, "La bella Venezia! You must destroy them, Auditore."

Ezio nodded and turned to go, but Lorenzo stopped him.

"Wait, I have something for you before you go…" The banker motioned and a servant approached with a red cape, "This cape signifies you as a friend of the Medici." Lorenzo explained.

"While you wear it guards will be…more tolerant of your actions."

Ezio grinned and grasped the scarlet silk gently.

"Be wary, though," Lorenzo warned, "It will not grant you immunity from the law."

Ezio nodded and slid the cape over his shoulder. He bowed respectfully to the Medici banker and turned away, exiting the grand palazzo.

"There you are!" Hermione rolled her eyes as she spotted the assassin, "I didn't find Medici in there anywhere! Are you sure you have the right building?"

Ezio smirked and tapped his chin, "You know what? Come to think of it…I may have had you searching the wrong building. Oh well!" He laughed and brushed past the confused witch, "Too late to go back now!"

"Ah Ezio!" Leonardo greeted the assassin warmly, "we're all ready to go!"

Ezio scanned the stuffed wagon waiting patiently at the gates of Firenze cautiously. Nervously, his eyes ran over the group of nine.

"Ehm…Leonardo?" Ezio coughed politely.

"What?" The artist replied distractedly.

"How…how are we all fitting in that wagon?"

There was an odd silence as the artist frowned in thought. He paced over to the back of the wagon and peered inside. Ezio tagged along, taking a good look at the cramped interior of the vehicle.

"What's this?" He fingered the papery material of the machine oddly, "it looks like a giant bat…"

"Oh, just a pazzo idea I had," Leonardo chuckled, "I could not leave it behind."

"Yeah, but your idea is taking up a LOT of wagon room." Harry pointed out tersely.

"Baggianatte," Leonardo scoffed, "You'll fit."

"Well…" Desmond winced, "let's get this show on the road…" He hesitantly climbed into the wagon and squished himself into the corner. His eyes darted left and right and then he smiled nervously at the six glaring at him.

"It's not that bad!" He called supportively, "we could fit another five people in here!"

"That's great!" Lucy called, "There's seven of us!"

"Who's sitting in front?" Shaun wondered.

"Well, me of course," Leonardo said, "I've got the directions."

"And me," Ezio nodded.

"Why you?" Ron grumbled.

"Because I am driving." The assassin scoffed, "So I suggest you get used to it."

"Well the sooner we get in," Hermione muttered, "the sooner we get home." Then she too crawled into the back between Desmond and a large box of paintings. Harry went in after her, followed by Shaun, then Rebecca, then Ron. Needless to say, it was a bit squishy.

"Are we all ready?" Ezio called shakily from the driver's seat, trying to hold back his laughter at the chorus of groans and thuds that followed his question.

"As ready as we'll ever be, jackass!" Shaun replied curtly.

"Oh this is so exciting!" Leonardo squealed as Ezio flicked the reigns. The horses set off at a brisk trot, sending the back of the wagon (and all its contents) bouncing up and down.

Once they were out of the city, it took less than five minutes of rocky, jarring road before Ron started grumbling. "I can't see why we didn't just Apparate to Venice and wait there."

"Because a journey of that distance would have splinched all of us," Hermione said irritably. For some reason she had been in a waspish mood ever since she had returned with Ezio from visiting that Medici bloke.

"Splinched?" Desmond asked. Hermione huffed in annoyance.

"Apparating is when a wizard or witch can disappear from one place and reappear at a certain destination which they have concentrated on. It's only effective over short distances and needs a lot of focus. Otherwise part of the person's body could be left behind. If enough of the subject is left behind, it could be disastrous, leaving the wizard stuck in between, with no way to go back or forward. That's called splinching."

"Damn," Desmond said, "And I thought taking the subway was dangerous."

"Quite." The bushy haired girl turned back to the road.

"How long did Leonardo say this was supposed to take, again?" Rebecca asked after a few moments.

"What? The entire journey, or until we reach Forli?" Shaun asked. Rebecca shrugged.

"Forli?"

"He said three days, if all goes well."

"Well, there goes that." Rebecca said, leaning back against the wall in defeat. "Since when has anything gone well so far?"

"Oh, stop it," Lucy snapped. "We're alive, aren't we? We're all together. Never complain; things could always be much worse."

"Well, that's a nice thought," Shaun smirked. "Can always count on Happy-go-Lucky Lucy."

"Don't call me that."

Any further argument was averted however. From behind the cart came the unmistakable rumble of hoof-beats.

"Do you hear that?" Desmond hissed at the group, raising his hand to steady himself in the bouncing wagon.

"Yeah, horses…" Ron nodded. Suddenly an aggravated call rang out from the drivers' seat.

"It's Borgia's men!" Ezio announced, "And I think they want us dead."

With a thud, Leonardo plopped into the back of the wagon, landing on a very unhappy Ron.

"Hey!" Ron cried as the inventor scurried off him.

"Those horses are getting closer…" Rebecca said anxiously.

There was a collective gasp as the wagon's pace hastened dramatically.

"Hang on!" Ezio's voice screamed, "It's going to get a little rough!"

"Augh!" Hermione shrieked as she was sent tumbling into the papery bat.

"MY MACHINE!" Leonardo cried and tackled the bushy-haired girl away from it, the two landing in a box of paintings.

"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE?" Desmond yelled from under Leonardo's wardrobe.

From the wagon's back, Harry could see the horsemen more clearly- the horses were matching pace with the wagon and were only a few steps from the back. From his spot, he could see a Borgia soldier preparing to jump from his horse to the wagon. On instinct, his wand flicked out-

"STUPEFY!" He shouted and a burst of red light broke out from his wand tip and struck the Italian in the chest, sending him flying backwards. The horseman behind him stared wide eyed at Harry and his jaw dropped.

"Ezio!" Harry called, "They're trying to climb on board!"

"Oh no they're not!" Ezio laughed giddily and suddenly began to swerve the wagon violently. The passengers screamed as they were thrown from one side to the other, collecting an interesting range of bruises and gashes from hitting each other and the machine.

"YOU IDIOT!" Rebecca shrieked at Harry, "YOU MADE IT WORSE!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT DESMOND'S ANCESTOR IS A PSYCHO MANIAC!" Harry yelled back defensively (which was difficult as his jaw slammed into the wall).

"WE ARE NOT RELATED!" Desmond choked out.

When the swerving died down, Harry was able to get anther good look at their pursuers.

"Hermione, Ron!" He shouted, "See if you can hit them before they jump onto the wagon- stunning spells only!"

The two nodded and stumbled as close to the wagon's entrance as they dared, pulling out their wands.

"STUPEFY!" Hermione screamed and another soldier flew off his horse.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shaun yelled, wincing as a box slammed into his back.

"Saving your bloody life!" Ron replied over the horses' whinnies.

"Oh!" Leonardo shouted, pointing through a small hole in the roof, "Ezio! Someone's behind you!"

The wagon swerved violently to one side, which threw everyone to the left. Such an amount of weight caused the wooden vehicle to tip on its side.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" The scream came from everyone, including Ezio as he slid from the drivers' seat. After a few long, long moments on one side, the balance finally shifted and the wagon slammed back on all fours, the two horses in front whinnying at ear-splitting volume. Ron shot a curse from the back hitting a mercenary in midair- causing him to miss the wagon and land face-first in the recently trampled dirt. From that point on, the three wizards were intent on doing everything they could to prevent Ezio from taking matters into his own hands.

"How many of these blokes does that Borgia fellow have, anyway?" Ron yelled as he blasted another Italian.

"I think that's all of them, actually!" Desmond replied, straining his Eagle Vision in search of more glowing red wisps. However his line of sight was already smothering with an alarming amount of blue.

"Ezio!" Hermione called up to the driver, "I think they've stopped following us!"

There was no reply.

"Ezio?" She repeated, frowning.

"Oh no." she heard Desmond say, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped as he pulled his head back inside the wagon.

"What did you see?" Lucy asked anxiously.

"Is that smoke?" Leonardo sniffed the air cautiously, "there's supposed to be a bridge here…"

"EVERYONE HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Ezio screamed.

There was a lurch- and then suddenly the wagon was airborne. The girls screamed, the boys covered their eyes, and the horses whinnied.

Then- with a wham the wagon landed on the other side of the bridge, flames licking its wheels. Shaun glanced out the wagon's back.

"Wait- THE BRIDGE WAS ON FIRE?" He shrieked.

"Yeah, and so is part of the WAGON!" Rebecca yelled, attempting to put it out with one of Leonardo's shirts.

"AGUAMENTI!" Hermione shouted and a jet of water sprang from her wand, dousing the flame. Rebecca stared from her to the shirt blankly.

"Huh," she huffed. She turned to Lucy, panting. "What were you saying about things getting worse?"

Lucy started to giggle uncontrollably, and then suddenly, everyone was laughing, unable to stop. Whether it was from relief or just adrenaline, it didn't matter. The entire wagon rang with peals of laughter for a full five minutes. Finally, the laughter died down, Desmond and Hermione finishing off the spell with hiccups. As the group's energy wound down, Hermione began setting the luggage to rights, facing opposition only in Leonardo, who wouldn't allow her to touch the machine, elbowing her out of the way and lovingly straightening the paper wings himself. She straightened the various crates and paintings before squeezing back into her spot with a huff.

Muttering to himself about "_saw it somewhere here"_, Shaun cracked open one of the crates, and dug out a bottle of wine. "Ah! Here." He popped the cork out with a small knife, and drank deeply from the bottle. He had barely lowered it before it was snatched from him by Desmond, who raised it high as if making a toast. "To things getting worse and to surviving Ezio's driving,"." He took a large gulp, and then passed it left, to Hermione.

She shrugged and took a drink before passing it on. When the bottle had been handed around to everyone in the wagon bed, Leonardo climbed back up to the driver's seat and handed it to Ezio.

"It's nearly empty," He complained in indignation, holding the bottle up to the light.

"That's because we really don't want you intoxicated," Rebecca said, "I, for one do not want to see what you drive like drunk if that's your sober driving." There were murmurs of agreement all around. Ezio scoffed.

"As if a single bottle of wine could make me drunk." He said, keeping his eyes on the road. "You underestimate me, Madonna."

"Don't care," Rebecca said, crossing her arms. Ezio shrugged and finished the bottle. He smacked his lips in satisfaction, then tossed the bottle carelessly behind him.

"Oi! Watch it!" Ron said as the glass bottle nearly hit him in the head. Ezio didn't bother answering.

A/N: And there's more wine!

Italian Translation: Madonna: My Lady


	8. Chapter 8

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Eight

The rest of the day's journey was blessedly boring. Most of the occupants of the wagon bed fell asleep, leaning awkwardly over crates, or slouching in their seats. Rebecca fell asleep on Shaun's shoulder, causing the man to turn nearly purple in embarrassment, something which amused Desmond and Lucy to no end.

The sun gradually crept across the sky as the wagon and all its contents rattled on through the mountainous roads. Near sunset, Ezio directed the horses off the road. The wagon's rattling increased exponentially, waking most of the occupants.

"Wha-?" Ron asked blearily, looking up over the sideboard of the wagon. "What's going on?"

"It's getting dark," Ezio answered, "We need time to set up a camp." Ron grunted in response and slouched back down again. After a few hundred yards of bumpy road, the wagon came to a stop. At once, Ezio leaped down from the driver's seat, stretching and cracking his joints.

"Come," he said, clapping his hands together, "We need to get to work." Rebecca jumped down from the wagon in relief and set off to care for the horses. The rest of the group clambered down as more slowly.

Leonardo leaned over into one of the crates, digging around. With a cry of triumph, he pulled out what looked like a bundle of cloth.

"Wassat?" Lucy said around a yawn.

"It's a tent." The artist said, "It is similar to the kind the Eastern Bedouins use, but I have made a few adjustments in the design."

"Oh!" Hermione's cry rang out, startling them all. Ezio's hand flew to the sword on his back while Harry and Ron whipped out their wands, all of them looking around for the threat. Nothing was there.

"What is it?" Harry asked, turning back to the girl.

"The _tent_!" she said, completely oblivious to the reaction she had caused. "The tent!"

Harry frowned in confusion, then comprehension dawned. "What? You have it with you?" Hermione ignored him, instead rummaging in her robes and pulling out a small beaded purse.

"You had that the whole time?" Ron roared indignantly. "We've been packed into that ruddy wagon like sardines and you've had the bag the whole time?"

"I forgot about it didn't I?" Hermione said defensively. "There was quite a bit going on, if you hadn't noticed."

"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one around here?"

"Wait, what's up?" Lucy asked, confused, looking between the angry red-head and his girlfriend.

"This bag is enchanted to hold anything without losing space." Hermione said, her entire arm dug into the bag as she groped for the tent inside. Leonardo's face brightened in interest.

"Indeed?" he said, leaping forward. "Might I examine it?"

"No," Hermione said, burying her head in the bag, looking for the elusive tent. "Aha!" she said, popping her head back up, dragging a bundle of poles and red cloth out of the tiny bag.

"Please?" Leonardo reached uncontrollably for the bag. Hermione frowned and held it out of reach.

"No," she repeated, speaking as if she was talking to a toddler. Ezio clapped his hands to get everyone's attention before the artist could make another grab for the bag.

"Come on," he said, "It's getting dark and we're losing light. Unless you wizards are capable of producing light out of thin air," he added with a scornful laugh.

"You mean like this?" Harry asked, lighting his wand with a simple _Lumos_ charm.

Ezio scowled. "Just get started, _bastardo_" he said, "I'm tired and-"

"Okay, okay," Harry smirked, but let the assassin toss a bundle his way and carried it over to where Shaun and Desmond were preparing the campground, wand light shining in the gathering darkness. Working quickly, the camp- which consisted of the two tents- was set up. Hermione managed to put together a meal in the magical tent's fully equipped kitchen. The rest of the evening was spent inside said tent, trying to explain all the modern amenities to a nearly apoplectic Leonardo.

As night fell, Lucy insisted that they should all get some sleep, cutting across Hermione's explanation of the icemaker. "We're going to want to start out early tomorrow." So, with Leonardo looking somewhat crestfallen, they divided up the nightshift watches and bedded down. Ezio and Desmond had volunteered almost at the same time. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"It's not that I have anything against you people," Ezio explained, holding his hands up defensively, "I just have better vision than you."

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked skeptically.

"No, he's referring to Eagle Vision," Desmond sighed, "we both have it."

"What is it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Eagle Vision grants one the ability to see one's intentions," Ezio grumbled, "People who seek to do us harm will appear red, allies blue, targets gold, information white."

"The Eagle's eye is also not affected by night or daylight," Desmond elaborated, "So it makes sense for Ezio and I to go on watch."

"How come you have it, but Shaun, Rebecca and Lucy don't?" Hermione inquired further.

"It's something unique to my bloodline," Desmond muttered, "My ancestor Altair had it too."

"You know of Altair?" Ezio's eyes widened, his surprised face turning to his descendant.

"Well this sounds interesting," Ron yawned and flipped up the entrance to the tent, "I hope you don't mind if I just turn in for the night here…"

Harry and Hermione followed suit, and bade the two Assassins goodnight. Desmond and Ezio stayed out for quite a while discussing the Codex written by the great Master Assassin of whom they were both descendants.

While the tent had many rooms, sleeping space for nine people was still a bit squishy. Lucy tried to divide it appropriately, but there were still only three women and six men. That meant some of them would have to share space.

"Okay, there's no reason we can't be grown up about this." Lucy frowned at Ron's amused face as she brought the matter to Harry's attention.

"Of course, signora!" Ezio grinned, "If one of us has to sleep in the girl's room-"

"Stop that right now or YOU'RE sleeping outside!" Hermione flared, face flushed.

"It's his personality," Shaun gritted, "he can't help it. I'm just glad this is one trait Desmond DIDN'T inherit."

"Please, Shaun," Desmond drawled slyly from the tent's entrance, "You're just jealous because you've never gotten a girl in your life."

"Shut up!" Shaun snapped, whirling to the tent's flap angrily.

"So Shaun, Harry, Ron, and Leonardo will share one room-" Lucy attempted.

"No way!" Ron looked horrified, "I'm not sleeping in the same room with that nutter! Who knows what he does at night!"

Leonardo looked as though he had just lost a dear friend.

"You…don't like me?" The sandy-haired inventor whimpered, blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Well…er…" Ron stuttered, suddenly sorry for his outburst, "I…I didn't mean it like that…"

At that moment Ezio re-entered the tent from checking a few things outside and face palmed at Leo's expression.

"Come now, ragazzi," he sighed tiredly, "what have you done to poor Leonardo?"

"I haven't done anything to him," Ron mumbled, "he's just a bit sensitive is all."

"He doesn't like me." Leonardo said simply, giving Ezio his pest kicked-puppy looked.

"Oooohhh…" Rebecca cooed sweetly, "he looks like he needs a hug!"

"No hugging!" Ezio glared.

There was a decisive silence, interrupted only by Leonardo's slight whimperings.

"Okay fine…" Ron finally gave in, "he can sleep with us."

"Oh wonderful!" Leonardo clapped his hands, "does this mean I can study your futuristic sleeping clothes!"

As they climbed in Harry leaned in to Ron, whispering, "Do you think he did that on purpose?" Ron threw a suspicious look at the delighted artist, who had climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin.

"Wouldn't put it past him," he muttered darkly. Then he shrugged and yawned. "Night, Harry."

A/N: Italian Translation

Bastardo: Bastard

Ragazzo/Ragazzi: Kid/ Kids


	9. Chapter 9

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Nine

The night settled in around them, as a sleepy chorus of "g'night"s emanated from various beds. And one by one, the travelers dropped off to sleep. Ezio leaned against the tent's entrance, arms folded, staring into the blessedly inky blackness. Somewhere up the mountain path, an owl hooted, sending the echoes spiraling through the scenery. The assassin settled back, comfortably, recalling a journey he had taken many years previously with his older brother, Federico, and their father to visit their uncle in Monteriggioni.

They had camped out near a mountain path then, too. Eager to please, Ezio had insisted on taking first watch. He could still remember that thrill of responsibility that had filled his chest when his father had agreed. Seven years old, and doing the night watch like one of the city soldiers! He had marched importantly up and down in front of their tent, the night's silence closing in around him. Finally, tired out, he had flopped down by the dying embers of the fire, yawning widely. Suddenly, there had been a savage cry from directly behind them, and someone had grabbed the boy from the back.

"AUGH!" He had shrieked in surprise and fear, before whipping around to find his dear older brother collapsed on the floor, laughing.

"Oh, that was priceless!" the ten-year-old had wheezed between peals of laughter. "You….should…have seen….your….face!" Furious, embarrassed, indignant, Ezio had leapt at his brother and began pummeling him. Giovanni had had to pull the smaller boy off of his older brother, because Federico was still laughing to hard to fight back. Now, more than ten years later, the assassin smiled at the memory.

A snap from behind him drew him sharply back to the present. He whipped around, staring into the darkness. He squinted hard, trying to make out any sign of movement. There! He turned on his Eagle Vision. It was glowing through the darkness, and far up the mountain path, mostly obscured by the mountain itself. But he had been sure he had seen it. A red aura, glowing around the figure of a man. At least he thought it was a man…it was hard to tell from such a distance, and equally impossible to know whether their follower was a Templar or a Death Eater. Then it was completely hidden by the stones around it.

There was a rustling from behind him, from the tent. He turned to see that Harry had woken, and had come out to join him.

"We have company," Ezio said darkly, nodding out to where the red glow had been.

"Should we leave?" Harry asked, alarmed. Ezio shook his head.

"No, I only saw one, and he was too far off to attack tonight. I believe he is just following us."

"Death Eater?" Harry squinted into the night, unable to see anything.

"Possibly." Ezio shrugged. "He could well be a Templar, though too." Harry cast a dark look across the pitch black scenery, then sat down in the tent entrance with a heavy, exasperated sigh.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Harry said, with a hollow laugh. There was a pause as his face settled into a frown. "I'm tired of being chased."

"Eh?" Ezio dropped down next to the younger boy.

"It's nothing." Harry said, shaking his head. Ezio snorted. "Okay, so it isn't nothing," Harry conceded, "But it's no use whining about it is there? I've been a marked man since before I was born; complaining won't change that."

"No," Ezio said, "But that doesn't mean you can't every once in a while."

"Yeah, but once I start, I don't think I'd be able to stop. A_ lot_ happens to me," Harry said, trying to keep his voice as controlled as possible. Honestly, if it wasn't Voldemort, it was the Ministry, or the Dursleys, or _Snape_, he added with a surge of hatred.

"Yes, I'm beginning to see that." Ezio said wryly. Harry laughed, this time a little more easily.

"But you know," Ezio went on, staring at the multitude of stars above them, "Even if we don't control our fates, or what happens to us, we do control how we will take it." Harry hmm'd in agreement. "Even if that means we allow ourselves to complain once in a while." Ezio added with a smile. "If we do that, perhaps we can then see how things could turn out for the better." Harry was quiet for some time, mulling that idea over.

"You may be right," He said, "I mean, who knows if I'dve had Ron and Hermione if it hadn't been for all our stupid adventures at school…or Professor Dumbledore." He shook his head ruefully. "I'm just being a git, I guess."

"Well," Ezio said, cracking his neck, "I hope that you are feeling better, because I'm all out of philosophy for today." Harry laughed.

"Yeah, think I'm good."

"Bene," Ezio slurred and retreated beneath his hood, leaning against the tent. Harry smiled, making a small note to discuss Ezio catching a few z's while on guard duty later. He stood up and ducked into the tent. It was about time he got a good night's sleep, leaving all his troubles in the hands of the capable Italian assassin.

Desmond awoke to the smell of frying bacon. He groaned and rolled over- and almost shrieked. Lucy was curled up in the nook of his arm comfortably, and she shifted slightly at his movement. It was apparent from her slow breathing and relaxed expression that she was still asleep, despite the sunlight seeping through the tent flaps. Glancing around, Desmond face palmed with his other hand as he noted Rebecca and Hermione's empty sleeping bags. The engineer would never let him forget this…

Just then, said head-phoned woman poked her head into the room.

"Breakfast is served, lovebirds." She announced sweetly, sending Desmond a wink. He responded with a glare that could freeze a desert. He slid slowly from under Lucy and staggered into the kitchen. He moaned at the full table. Well, at least he was up before _someone. _

"Ah, Desmond!" Shaun grinned, "Good of you to join us!"

"Just leave me alone, asshole." Desmond grunted and grabbed a piece of toast from the counter.

"Whoa, Desmond," Rebecca tsked, "not a morning person, are we?"

"Shut up," Desmond muffled through a mouthful of toast. Taking a seat at the table, he noted the map Leonardo and Ezio were poring over as the pair scratched their chins in consideration. Ron looked like he was still asleep, munching blandly on his bacon and Harry's expression was the one he always wore- Desmond couldn't quite place it. Hermione was at the stove, frying two more slices of bacon and Rebecca and Shaun were just finishing up their toast.

"So, where are we headed today, doc?" Desmond asked Leonardo preppily.

The blonde inventor proceeded to ignore him, muttering softly to Ezio and pointing to a specific area on the map.

"Well about that," Harry explained hesitantly, "Leonardo seems to think we might've gone off track…"

"Well we _were _being chased," Ezio's head snapped up defensively, "I'd like to see _you _stick to this gruello's map while being pursued by horsemen!"

"I suppose now would not be a good time to mention your driving skills?" Ron yawned. Ezio sent him a dirty look.

"Well which way are we supposed to be going?" Desmond asked, eye brows raised.

"See," Leonardo pointed to a forested part on the map, while sending Ezio a side-glare, "We're here. We missed the road to Forli by a few kilometers- instead now we're on a detour through San Gimignano."

"That sounds like a nice place." Rebecca nodded enthusiastically.

"It does, doesn't it?" Shaun snorted, "Why don't we take some tours and get souvenirs while we're there, eh Beccar? This isn't a vacation."

"You could stand to lighten up a bit, Shaun!" Rebecca replied, frustrated, "All I said is I thought it sounded nice!"

"And we have another problem," Ezio added, slapping his hand on the table for attention, "we're being followed."

"Death eaters?" Hermione asked from the stove.

"Could be," Ezio nodded, "but it may be Templars as well. Or…it might even be both working together."

"Well that's just stupid," Shaun retorted, "The Templars wouldn't do that. They can hardly even work with each other."

"I'm just open to possibilities," Ezio shrugged, "if we are attacked by Death Eaters, there won't be much I can do, though I will try. Most of the fight will be up to Harry and his group."

"Morning guys," A blonde yawned from the doorway.

"Lucy," Desmond nodded, "Did you hear what's happening today?"

"No, what?" Lucy asked sleepily, piling a small stack of bacon on a plate. Desmond repeated the highlights of the previous conversations (minus the bickering).

"So are we turning around or going through San Gimignano?" She asked, breakfast now finished.

"It may be a bit of a detour," Harry said, "but it's also a pretty good way to throw off whoever's chasing us."

"And if we turned around," Ezio added, "the road is mostly empty- perfect place for an ambush."

"San Gimignano it is, then." Ron sighed. "How long is _that_ going to take?"

"Well as we're already part of the way there, it should be close; no more than two days," Leonardo said helpfully.

"Someone needs to work on your judge of distance, Leo," Ron grumbled.

"Ron," Hermione said warningly.

"Yeah, yeah," He waved her off; he was in no mood for another lecture this bloody early in the morning. "C'mon then," he said, standing up. "Let's get this show on the road."

A/N: One of my favorite chapters, this one. The next one'll be happier, I promise.

Italian Translation: Bene: Good


	10. Chapter 10

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Ten

Working quickly, the ensemble collapsed the two tents, and packed into the wagon. By packing most of the crates of luggage into Hermione's beaded bag, the wagon bed was marginally roomier. However, Leonardo had refused point-blank to allow Hermione to stuff his precious machine into the bag.

"Absolutely not," he had said, standing in front of the wooden and paper bat with his arms thrown out protectively. No matter how much reasoning, pleading or cajoling they tried, he wouldn't budge. "This machine may revolutionize the thoughts, lifestyle and very existence of humanity," he insisted. "I cannot, in good conscience allow it to be placed at such risk."

"You sound like Beccar," Shaun muttered, though quietly, so that the tiny engineer didn't hear what he said. "And we all know where_ her_ baby got us."

"I agree with Leo," Rebecca said, "Magic and Genius do not mix." Hermione opened her mouth indignantly, but Harry cut her off before she got started, rolling his eyes.

"Alright fine," He said, waving them towards the wagon "Just get moving, can you?" Hermione rounded on him, but he added, "Being a little cramped won't kill us. But staying here too long just might."

"Oh alright," Hermione huffed and clambered up onto the wagon.

It was still just after sunrise when they reached the road they had been following the previous day. Though just as boring and crowded, there was little complaining. At first, the entire group was still nervous about whoever was tailing them. Ezio drove the horses hard, his face tense beneath his white hood, as Leonardo navigated, occasionally checking the map the he had open on his knees. But the emptiness of the surrounding area-and the fact that no attack came, eventually calmed them all. By lunchtime they were traveling at a sedate pace, rocking along the stone road peacefully.

"I'm bored," Desmond observed, staring out at the landscape, which was beginning to all look the same.

"Don't care," Shaun groaned from his cramped position on the floor. There was silence, and then Desmond's voice came again.

"Wanna play a game?"

"No," Shaun shot back, before Desmond had even finished the sentence. Desmond frowned, looking out around him.

"I spy, with my little eye-"

"Shut Up!" Shaun snarled.

"-Something green." There was a pause, then Hermione spoke up.

"That tree?"

"Nope."

"_That _tree?"

"The grass?" Ron asked.

"Damn." Desmond said. "You're turn."

"I spy with my little eye something…." Ron searched around, drawing out the last word, "Blue."

"The sky?" Lucy asked, stretching as she sat up.

"No."

"This shirt?" Rebecca said, tugging one of Leonardo's vests out of one of the crates that they had forgotten to pack into Hermione's purse.

"No," Ron said, "I didn't see that, did I?"

"Um…that stream up there?" Hermione said, pointing far up on one of the mountains behind them.

"Nope."

There was a silence. "Okay, we give up. What was it?"

"Oh come on!" Ron said, staring around. "It's really good," he said enticingly. Nobody answered. "Fine," He said in exasperation. "It was my eyes."

"You cheater!" Rebecca bawled. "It has to be something _you_ can see. You can't see your own eyes!" Ron looked surly.

"Fine," He said, "I'll just go again."

"No you won't!" Shaun snapped. "We're not playing this inane game." His tirade was interrupted by Ezio's voice drifting back from the driver's seat.

"I spy with my little eye-"

"Oh for the love of God!" Shaun yelled in frustration, throwing up him arms.

"-something silver."

"Um….the road?" Hermione said, looking down at the stones below them.

"Those are gray," Harry said, giving her a strange look.

"Is it money?" Rebecca asked.

"He has to be able to see it," Desmond said.

"Can I be the one to tell them when they're wrong, please?" Ezio snapped. "It is _my_ turn."

"Fine," Desmond said. "Is it….that cloud?"

"Nope," the assassin said happily. "And it's not the other one either."

"Uh…" Rebecca looked around. "Is anyone wearing any jewelry?" They shook their heads. "What is it, Ezio?"

"It's _this_!" he said brandishing his left hand behind him. There, half-hidden beneath his sleeve glinted a wicked-looking blade.

"That's not fair!" Desmond whined. "How were we supposed to guess that if we can't even see it?"

"I could see it," the Italian shrugged. "Aren't those the rules?"

"Let's play something else," Desmond grumbled.

"You're just sore because you lost," Ezio gloated, just as Shaun broke in again.

"No, we are not playing something else. We are not playing anything. This is stupid and childish and we are stopping now." The rest of the group fell into silence. "Thank you."

There was a full five minutes of silence as the Italian countryside rolled past. Then, slowly at first, then with strengthening enthusiasm, Rebecca began to sing:

"Are we there yet, are we there yet…" She grinned.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" Lucy exploded in giggles, catching Rebecca's eye.

"No!" Shaun glared at the two females, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"Can we find a bathroom, can we find a bathroom?" Desmond played along, sending the Brit a vicious smirk.

"SHUT UP!" Shaun screamed in aggravation, "SHUT UP!"

"I'M HUNGRY! I'M HUNGRY!" Harry and Ron joined in, rolling with laughter.

"Everybody!" Rebecca gigged, spreading her arms. Laughing, the whole back seat of the wagon broke into chorus:

"ARE WE THERE YET, ARE WE THERE YET, DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"CAN WE FIND A BATHROOM, CAN WE FIND A BATHROOM, I'M HUNGRY! I'M HUNGRY!"

When the song was over everyone fell over, clutching their stomachs in hysteria.

"That was great!" Ezio wiped a tear from his eye, "Do you guys do this all the time?"

"Only on the really LONG car rides!" Rebecca grinned, elbowing the assassin in the ribs.

Shaun put his palms to his face and cried.

"Wait-" Lucy frowned, "if you're down here…who's DRIVING THE WAGON?"

"Oh, Leonardo," Ezio shrugged, disturbed by her worry.

"LEONARDO?" Lucy repeated, eyes widening, "He can't DRIVE!"

"Nonsense," Ezio snorted, "I'm sure he's perfectly capable of-"

WHUMP!

All the passengers of the back of the wagon were knocked out of their seats as the vehicle seemed to hit an abnormally large bump. The larger shock gave way to a stream of smaller bumps until Ezio called up to the inventor telling him to stop the wagon.

"What was that?" Desmond asked irritably.

"Don't know," Ezio grunted as he hopped out of the back. He kneeled down to inspect the bottom of the wagon.

"See anything?" Hermione asked worriedly.

A small 'oh' escaped the Italian Assassin.

"Ragazzi," he announced, "we are missing a wheel."

A chorus of groans and moans followed.

"You mean a wheel?" Ron grumbled, "You mean those little things that we use to get around?"

"Leonardo, what did you hit?" Lucy asked angrily.

"I…I think it was a small animal…" The inventor replied hesitantly.

"Well," Ezio sighed, climbing back up to the driver's seat. "San Gimignano should only be another hour or two on foot- we can tow the wagon there and get help."

"Tow?" Shaun repeated, jaw dropping in disbelief, "You mean, like tie ropes to the thing and pull it all the way there?"

"That is precisely what I mean, Amico." Ezio replied, unhitching the horses, "bouncing around on three wheels will only hurt the wagon more."

"Why don't we just leave the wagon here and one of us goes to San Gimignano?" Harry suggested.

"Not only would this involve us being separated," Leonardo pointed out, "but San Gimignaonians are notorious for being stubborn- they won't come all the way out here to deal with our wagon."

"Besides," Ezio said, "there's a good chance it'll be dark by then."

With no shortage of grumblings and complaints, the group filed out and proceeded onward, dragging the vehicle as quickly as they dared.

A/N: No Italian here either. No new Italian, anyway. I'm particularly proud of the I Spy game here. The "Are We There Yet?" song is to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?"


	11. Chapter 11

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Eleven

"Here we are," Ezio inhaled sharply, setting down his share of the wagon load. "San Gimignano."

"Seems like a lovely little place," Hermione admitted as she relieved her load.

"I'll go in and get a repairman, then." Leonardo laughed nervously, "after all, it is my wagon."

"I'll go with," Ron nodded, "anything to get away from that bloody wagon."

The assorted assassins and wizards made themselves comfortable at the gates of the small town. Ezio separated himself from the group and leaned against the ladder to the driver's seat. He grimaced and stared at the city's stone walls. The place held only bad memories for him so far. Vieri had died here, by his hand. He vividly remembered the boy's smug grin as blood gurgled from his mouth. He remembered shoving the blade down the throat that had taunted him since his birth. And what scared him most…was that he had enjoyed it.

"Thinking?" He jumped at the bushy-haired girl's voice, startled out of his reverie.

He shook his head, "A little, yes."

"You look very thoughtful," she frowned, "what's on your mind?"

"Nothing." He said dismissively. "Bad memories..."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, startled.

"Non importa," The assassin waved her off. "Come," he called to the group at large, "we need to find a carpenter." With that, he marched decisively up to the gate, looking as if he was determined not to hesitate.

Oo-o-000-o-oO

San Gimignano was a narrow, crowded city. The high towers that stood in almost every corner of the city and the labyrinthine streets cramped with shouting street vendors and travelers were enough to give anyone a claustrophobic fit, Ron observed. He, Ezio and Leonardo pushed their way through the crowds, ignoring the calls of the merchants around them. Ezio walked purposefully, shoving several people out of the way, while Leonardo trotted along behind him, Ron noticed. Both he and the artist had to jog to keep up with the determined assassin.

"How are we going to find anyone in this mess?" Ron wondered aloud, confused by the crowd and noise. While he had grown up visiting the narrow, crowded shopping center that was Diagon Alley, it had been years since anywhere in the Wizarding World had had any sort of crowd. Most wizards had been driven into hiding by fear and paranoia. Ron hadn't realized just how much his own experiences had affected him until now. Fear and paranoia. Yep, that was definitely one way to describe the way he was feeling right now. He found himself jumping or twitching as merchants, soldiers and citizens of the city crowded his peripheral vision. Much to Ron's consternation, Ezio was quick to notice his discomfort.

"What's the matter, ragazzo?" the Italian asked with a barely concealed smirk. "Are you not enjoying this?" Ron glared at him, refusing to rise to the bait.

"Let's just find the ruddy carpenter and get out of here," he said, his head jerking to follow the path of a man who had just brushed past him.

"As you wish," the Assassin said. With that, he slipped into the crowd, heading for a nearby stone building.

"What the-?" Ron exclaimed irritably. He rounded on the Inventor next to him. "Where's he going?" Leonardo shrugged carelessly.

"It is best to not interfere with him," he said, following the Assassin's white hood.  
"Ezio is used to working alone."

"Well, that's not very bloody helpful if we're supposed to be staying together." Craning his neck, Ron was able to see that Ezio had scaled a ladder onto a low slung ceiling. The Assassin then bounded up onto a second rooftop, showing no signs of care as he ascended higher and higher above the street. "What in Merlin's name is he doing?" With some pushing and well-placed elbowing, He and Leonardo were able to make their way to the bottommost tower, blessedly out of the way of the crowd.

"I see it!" Came the Assassin's voice. Ezio now stood on one of the tower roofs, pointing into the streets far below. Leonardo cupped his hands around his mouth, leaning far back to see the rooftop.

"What?" he yelled. Ezio pointed northwards.

"There," He shouted back. "A carpenter's shop." Ron turned to follow the path of the Assassin's finger. _Where?_ "It's further into the city, a little past the town square. It has a large sign above the entrance," Ezio continued. "You would have to be pazzo to miss it."

"Maybe from up there," Ron grumbled as Leonardo nodded happily.

"Alright," The blond man shouted up. "If you would just come down, then we'll set off…" His voice faded away as Ezio, apparently ignoring his call, turned and leapt away over the next rooftop, nimble as a mountaingoat. Ron, whose attention had been taken up by a passing soldier, only just noticed the Inventor's crestfallen expression.

"What?" he asked, then again, more suspiciously, "What?" He craned his neck up at the tower-top. The Assassin was gone. He let out a long string of curses that caused a passing monk to stare at him, scandalized. "Where the ruddy hell did he go?" Ron yelled, turning to Leonardo. Leonardo shrugged helplessly.

"To the carpenter's shop?" he said hopefully. "Or perhaps he saw something?" Ron growled in frustration.

"And he just expects us to wait here for him?"

"No, no," Leonardo said, shaking his head. "That would unwise."

"Any more unwise than just running off on his own?" Ron shouted, throwing up his arms in anger.

"Please, signore," The artist said, glancing around, "Calma, calma." Ron glared at him, too furious to speak. "I think what we should do is to find the carpentry shop that Ezio saw. He said it was just past the palazzo. It should be easy to find." Ron found his voice again.

"Oh sure," he said, sarcasm dripping in every syllable. " Simple." He kicked at a nearby bale of hay. "Never mind that he just abandoned us to wander through an unfamiliar street, with who knows how many enemies around, in the middle of the bloody _Renaissance_."Leonardo gave the red head a worried look. Ron looked around the crowded road, and took a deep breath trying to get a grip on himself. "Fine," he said, finally. "The sooner we find the damn place the better." He set off without another word.

San Gimignano was not a large city, but it still took a while to get around. The city was a maze, and if that wasn't enough- they passed an artist's shop.

"Ron!" The redhead jumped as he felt the inventor's hand snatch his arm, "Look! There's an art shop!"

"Not now, Leonardo!" Ron groaned, jerking back his shoulder, "We need to head to the carpenter!"

"But-" Leonardo protested.

"No!" Ron shouted, glaring at the dusty-haired man, "We are NOT getting sidetracked."

"I only wanted to look at the figurines…" Leonardo whimpered, blue eyes rimmed with tears. He turned his gaze on the wizard, who visually shriveled.

"Please?" he pleaded, looking desperate. Ron was beginning to get the feeling the inventor would break down and cry if he refused.

"…Fine…" he muttered, cursing himself, "but only five minutes."

Leonardo squealed happily and raced down to the shop.

"I'll be counting!" Ron yelled back, gesturing to his watch.

He then sighed and proceeded to a hay bale cart. He took a comfortable seat leaning against the wooden frame and waited. He watched the inventor from his perch as he picked up a beautiful hand-carved marionette. Leonardo moved his hands over it, stroking its smooth curves lovingly. At first, all was well. The artist appeared to be speaking with the vendor calmly about the doll. Then…Ron watched, eyes narrowing in concern as Leonardo's voice rose higher. It suddenly occurred to the red head that they were arguing.

Sighing, he removed himself from his perch on the hay cart and proceeded to the store.

"Che cosa?" Leonardo shouted indignantly, "You can't demand this much for a simple doll!"

"I can and will!" The vendor replied angrily, "You either pay my price or get out of my shop!"

"Oi!" Ron interrupted tiredly, "what's going on here?"

"None of your business, coglione!" the seller snapped.

Ron raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"I simply want to purchase this figurine," Leonardo explained, puppy dog eyes look returning to a lesser degree, "The way its arms and legs move is nearly vital to my painting!"

"So? What's stopping you?" Ron asked cynically.

"The price is ridiculous!" Leonardo muttered, "But…I need to buy this!"

"The price is not ridiculous," the merchant insisted, "it's normal around these parts."

"Taking advantage of travelers just visiting," Leonardo shook his head, "it's disgusting."

"What did you say?" The vendor asked, eyes narrowing.

"I said-" Leonardo repeated tersely.

"-Look, Leo," Ron said, pulling at the artist's arm for attention, "You can probably get the same thing at a different stand for less."

"No," Leonardo mumbled, "I'm positive I can bargain down his price!"

"Sometimes you have to let things go, Leo," Ron replied. He was no stranger to dreams of items far too expensive to buy.

"Just give me a moment!" Leonardo begged.

"No, I think we've wasted far too much time already." Ron said decidedly and then proceeded to drag the artist away from the stand.

"Hey!" The red-bereted man protested, "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"We're going to find a carpenter now, Leonardo!" Ron huffed, "it's been five minutes!"

"But wait!" Leonardo wailed, "This could be my only chance to purchase that!"

"Too bad!" Ron shouted, dragging the artist in the direction he vaguely remembered Ezio telling him to go in. The inventor was not happy about this- he managed to break free and aimed a kick at Ron's shin.

"Augh!" The redhead cried out in pain, "What was that for?"

"What do you think it was for?" Leonardo replied angrily. The man, usually mellow and almost completely against violence was acting oddly out of character. Ron gulped- an angry Leonardo da Vinci was not a beautiful sight to behold.

"I know you're upset, Leo!" Ron rubbed his shin, "but hitting me won't solve anything!"

"Actually," Leonardo huffed, "I think that hitting you was an excellent way to release the stress you caused to build up by mounting the anxiety of buying the ragdoll WHICH I WAS GOING TO USE FOR-"

"Amici!" A familiar voice cut in and before the two could glance up they had been swallowed into a double noogie, silencing Leonardo's rant. (Leo was thoughtfully protected by his beret, so Ron was the one who really suffered)

"Gah!" Ron cried out, slithering out of the large Italian's grasp, "Get off me!"

"I leave you two alone for one moment…" Ezio chuckled, "I'd swear you two were married!"

"What a repulsive thought!" Leonardo gagged.

"I'm impressed, ragazzo," Ezio whistled, slapping a hand on Ron's shoulder- the redhead flinched, "I can almost never make him that angry."

"Yeah well, I'm a man of many talents," Ron coughed, brushing off his shoulder.

"Eh, excuse me signore?" An unfamiliar voice asked hesitantly, "where did you say the wagon was?"

"Oh, as you can see," Ezio gestured to a small, nervous man who seemed to be following him, "I found a carpenter."

"Bravissimo," Leonardo snorted, "now we may leave."

A/N: We love to make Ron angry. J

Italian Translation:

Non importa: Not Important

Ragazzo/Ragazzi: Kid/ Kids

Pazzo: Crazy

Calma: Calm down

Che cosa: What is this?

Coglione: Jerk- although I'm told it could also mean something worse.

Amici/Amico: Friends/ Friend

Bravissimo: Wonderful


	12. Chapter 12

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Twelve

Meanwhile, the other seven who had stayed behind with the wagon and horses had been enjoying a nice lunch of dried meat and slightly stale bread, washing the entire meal down with one of the many bottles of wine in the crates.

"This is good stuff," Desmond was saying, pulling the bottle back and inspecting it. "I'm impressed." Lucy laughed.

"What?" Desmond asked, turning to her.

"Desmond," She said, "You're traveling with _the_ Leonardo da Vinci, surrounded by his drawings, and that machine of his," She said, gesturing to the paper bat which was still sitting lopsided in the damaged wagon. "And, of all things, you're impressed with his wine collection."

"I _was_ a bartender once," Desmond pointed out. "Anyways-" his next sentence was cut off by Hermione's call. "Here they come!" The bushy-haired girl had been facing the city gates, keeping watch. Now she was pointing to three figures who had emerged from the crowd, hooded, robed and caped, respectively.

Ezio was the only one smiling, marching in front with a surly looking Leonardo and a furious Ron in tow. "Oh no," she whispered, her voice both annoyed and worried. "What now?"

Harry stood up from where he had been leaning on the wagon, finishing off his sandwich, and came to stand next to her. "Well, Ezio looks happy at least." Nothing drastic could have occurred, right? Ron had spotted them as well, breaking ranks to jog up to meet his friends.

"Never again," Ron snarled as soon as the three were in earshot. "Next time I'm stupid enough to agree to go off with those nutters, please shoot me." Harry laughed. "I'm serious," Ron grumbled. "They are the most impossible pair of people to deal with and I grew up with the twins! And Percy!"

"Why is Leonardo upset?" Rebecca asked the red-head, who threw up his arms.

"How should I know? I wouldn't let him get into a fight with the store owner over some piece of sh-".

"Well that was fun," Ezio said, his voice cheery. Ezio and Leonardo had reached them. Ron threw him a dirty look, but attention had now shifted to the Italian.

"Well? Did you find the carpenter? " Rebecca asked, rounding on him.

"Did you ever doubt me, My Lady?" he stepped aside with a flourish. Standing in the Assassin's shadow was an old man, who was carrying a leather satchel, and looking faintly intimidated by the group at large. He looked more like the type who would be a scholar than a carpenter, with his hunched figure and permanent worry lines. "I present to you Signore Luigi Vampa. He assures me that he can have the wagon repaired within an hour, and for the lowest price to be found in the city," The Assassin said proudly, "And of course I have paid him handsomely for his silence." He turned to the little man, and made a sweeping gesture towards the decrepit wagon. "Well, signore?"

The carpenter needed no further invitation. With unexpected speed, given his weathered frame, the old man scuttled over to the side of the wagon with a missing wheel, muttering to himself in Italian. He inspected the broken hub closely, nodded to himself, and began digging in the pack that was slung over his shoulder. The nine travelers all watched him work, impressed at his expert handling of the problem. After roughly five minutes however, Hermione turned to Ron.

"I really don't think that you should have been fighting with Leonardo," she said, quietly ignoring his indignant expression. "I know he's…enthusiastic but…"

"Hermione," Ron hissed, "He's insufferable! He's like Dobby and Colin Creevey put together, except he's not obsessed with Harry! He was just wandering around the streets, not caring that we may have been attacked at any moment because he was too busy looking at everything. He's too distracted by all the stupid muggle technology and dumb statues to notice that maybe it wasn't a good idea to-"

"That's really harsh, Ron." Hermione cut across him flatly. "He's probably not used to being careful of crowds. Have you ever considered that there might be people who haven't spent their whole lives in danger of attack or death? You have to be understanding."

"It's not like they make it easy," Ron retorted, keeping his voice low. "Even Ezio- he just ran off on his own. No thought to whether there was any danger in leaving us alone, no telling us where he was going- and he acts like it was all perfectly fine." He glowered at the Assassin in question, who was eating a sandwich of dried meat, and laughing at something Shaun had said to Desmond. "Arrogant bastard."

Hermione sighed tiredly. "Ron," she said, "We can't afford to get into fights right now. It's just a situation we're going to have to deal with. With any luck, we'll get to Venice quickly and be sent back to the twenty-first century. Until then," she added, taking his hand, "_Please_ try to get along with the others. We're all anxious and worried- yes, even Ezio- but we shouldn't be taking it out on each other." Ron scowled, but after a few seconds, sighed.

"Fine," He said. "I'll try."

"Thank you," Hermione said, stepping up on to her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

As promised, the wheel took less than an hour to repair. It was just after midday when the carpenter patted the newly repaired wheel, and warned them to be careful over the bumpier roads. "It should hold well, though," He said in a slight voice.

"Grazi, Mi Amico," Ezio said. He pulled a handful of silver from the purse that hung on his belt. The carpenter accepted the payment with a bow.

"It was an honor," He murmured. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to my shop. The best of fortune on your journey."

"And the same to you." Ezio watched the old man shuffle back to the city gates, then turned back to the group. "Well," he said, with a sweeping gesture to the newly repaired vehicle, "Do we want to reach Forli before the end of the week or not?" The three women and four men clambered back into the wagon bed, Leonardo and Ezio scrambled into the driver's plinth and they trundled off. Well fed and bored, it didn't take too long for most of the passengers to fall asleep.

A/N: And they're drinking again.

Italian Translation (such as it is):

Amici/Amico:Friends/ Friend

Grazi: Thank you


	13. Chapter 13

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Thirteen

The next three days of travelling were quite un-eventful. The same schedule repeated itself- wake up to the bouncing of the wagon, spend the morning entertaining yourself in some way, break for lunch, resume bouncing, break for supper, bounce through the night. Nothing of note happened except for the time Ezio fell asleep while driving (no one noticed until they nearly fell down a ravine). From then on it was insisted that the Assassin sleep the rest of the journey, which he agreed to rather blearily. Harry took over driving after it was made clear no one trusted Leonardo. In this way the group made it to the wetlands area surrounding Forli.

"Ah, there it is," Ezio inhaled, poking his head out the wagon's window. "Beautiful Forli."

"That's it?" Desmond asked, eyebrows raised. The stone walls of the city were barely visible through the mist of the marsh.

"It looks like a pile of rocks," Rebecca stated, squinting through the fog.

"Looks can be deceiving," Ezio shrugged, "Though I don't remember Forli being that impressive, in truth."

"Remember?" Ron repeated, "When was the last time you visited Forli?"

"A long time ago," The assassin shrugged again, "My father took my brothers and me to Venice for a visit- the port is near Forli, so we stayed the night."

"I'm afraid we may need to do the same thing," Leonardo announced, "According to my records, a boat only leaves Forli for Venice once a week."

"Which day of the week is that?" Hermione asked warily. She hated the idea of spending more time in this foggy wetland than she needed to.

"Tomorrow, actually," Leonardo responded.

"I'd better go back up and give Harry directions to the inn," Ezio said, heading for the wagon's exit.

"Do we have to go straight to the inn?" Rebecca asked hopefully, "can't we spend some time in the city?"

"It's best we go to the port first and see what time the boat leaves," Ezio nodded, "but I don't see why not."

"Wow!" Rebecca squealed as Ezio climbed back up to the driver's seat, "We're actually going to Renaissance Forli!"

"Beccar," Shaun sighed, "don't make me remind you again. This is not-"

"A vacation, I know," Rebecca snapped, hurt, "I just wanted to enjoy it a bit. Unless YOU want to sit in the wagon all afternoon. I for one, would like to stretch my legs."

After a few more minutes of rattling and bouncing, the wagon pulled to a stop before the entrance to the docks. The docks, if you could call them that, were really just a large wooden deck with some berths for ships attached. There was a small group of buildings, cottages and shacks, next to the water. The group piled out of the wagon and stretched, filling the air with the popping of joints and snapping of bones.

"If it pleases you, ragazzi," Ezio groaned, "I would like to WALK from here to the city."

No one disagreed.

They waited outside a few moments while Ezio and Leonardo made arrangements at the inn. The weather was quite humid, but without the humidity Romagna was quite cold. They had picked a fine time to visit- the rainy season, where the farmland was completely flooded. Their wagon had splashed through dozens of puddles on the way to the inn alone and, waiting outside patiently, the mosquitoes were becoming unbearable. Finally, the Assassin and the genius re-appeared and the group set off on the beaten road for Forli, which was just a short walk away.

When the group reached the gates the whole visit had begun to feel like a family trip. Ezio divided them into three groups: Harry, Ron, Shaun, and Desmond. Rebecca, Hermione, Lucy, and Leonardo- and Ezio decided to go by himself.

"Why don't you come with us?" Leonardo had pleaded excitedly.

"I'd love to, amico mio," Ezio had replied with an expression that was quite un-like him, "but I would like to be by myself for a while."

Leonardo nodded silently and let Rebecca drag him away, chattering excitedly.

Harry didn't find anything special about the small stone city. Strolling around was fun with Ron, especially deciding what to use the three-hundred florins Ezio had allotted them on, but in the end it was just another homely Italian town. Desmond had of course taken interest in the assortment of rare Italian wines they were selling and had dragged Shaun along to inspect them on the grounds that he "had nothing better to do." Harry and Ron had a lot of fun checking out the art stores too- and had, in the end, purchased a piece depicting a solemn family praying in church.

"Wait till Hermione sees this!" Ron giggled, "I hope we can take it back with us- I'd love to have a renaissance painting to brag about in my room!"

"I don't think so, Ron," Harry shook his head, "Everyone'd be able to tell it's a muggle painting anyway."

"Yeah, but still," Ron persisted, "do you know any other Gryffindors who've been to Renaissance Italy?"

For Lucy, Rebecca, and Hermione the day had been a blast. While at first Lucy had been stern, reminding everyone to remember what they were here for- even she fell to the shopping spree after a while. They had divided Ezio's seven-hundred florins into one-fifty each and had given Leonardo the excess. Rebecca and Lucy had preferred to shop together, and Hermione was alright picking out styles on her own. Leonardo found he wasn't quite in the mood for shopping anymore- instead he found himself sketching on a bench in the main plaza, trying to place the look Ezio had given him. He found he couldn't be excited while he knew something was wrong. Rebecca had come back to him with an arm full of exotic dresses from maid's clothing to ball gowns. Lucy had returned with a stack of canvases and painting materials and had asked Leonard to give her a brief tutorial (he had smiled and replied 'perhaps later'). Finally, Hermione came back carrying nothing but her purse.

"Well? How'd you make out?" Rebecca asked eagerly, lifting an eyebrow at the lack of baggage.

"Rebecca," Hermione's grin was so wide it appeared she'd burst into laughter any moment, "you have _no _idea."

Ezio had spent the day where he knew no one would find him. The most obvious place- yet impossible to reach. Lounging casually against the cross's base he felt completely at peace on the tip of the church's one hundred fifty foot spire. But something felt wrong- the Assassin felt rather melancholy.

No matter how much they had hid it, smothering it in terms he didn't understand, the message got through. It was pretty clear to the young killer that when he and Leonardo boarded the boat for Venice, their friends would disappear. He realized he didn't know how he felt about that. For the past week on the road he'd felt like a father taking care of his children- he chuckled at how troublesome they had all been- but for the first time in six years, he had been a brother again. Moments like that game of I Spy in the wagon could never be replaced. He frowned- all his memories of those moments had been torn from him by the Templars the moment he saw his brothers hang.

In the end it boiled down to one thing.

How could he saw goodbye?

Ezio had never been one for goodbyes. Even for all his night-time conquests, he had never said goodbye. He often left a note, a flower, even a blade- he never left with words. He found he'd grown quite fond of the bushy haired girl, and the fiery redhead- even the quiet arrogant nature of the boy with the scar. He'd loved his descendant like a brother as well, as they were the same age. When the time came…what would he do? Questions like these plagued the Italian's mind until he felt he would burst. He didn't want to say goodbye. He'd missed having a family too much to let go of it so soon. He wasn't ready- he laughed bitterly at this thought. He himself had answered the question years ago. "We rarely are."


	14. Chapter 14

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Fourteen

At sunset the groups met at the gates of the city where they had entered, laden with goodies and treats of all kinds, which they stowed neatly in Hermione's bag. Ezio seemed lighter somehow, Leonardo mused, but he still couldn't pin the man down. The Assassin avoided his questioning blue eyes. Ezio volunteered to head to the inn first to confirm their reservations.

"What's wrong with him?" Ron snorted, "he hasn't said a word all day."

"He probably just isn't used to shopping trips," Hermione shrugged, "didn't he say he has two brothers?"

"Yeah, wonder what happened," Ron nodded, looking thoughtful, "I mean, think he ran away from home to become an Assassin?"

"I think there's more to it than that…" Harry remarked as the three continued down the soggy Romagna road.

"We're so close to the end now," Desmond sighed, "I'm actually gonna miss this place."

"It's not really goodbye, Desmond," Lucy said warmly, wrapping her arm around the ex-bartender's arm comfortingly, "You'll see him again in the animus."

"He won't see me though…" Desmond said sadly. "Hey, do you think we could tell him? I mean tell him I'll be here, watching his memories?"

"He wouldn't understand, Desmond." Lucy said coldly, her voice emotionless though she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, the animus is really advanced anyway," Rebecca nodded, "not many people in modern times would believe it was possible."

"'Really advanced'," Shaun repeated mockingly, "what a professional term, 'really advanced'…"

"Shut up, Shaun!" Rebecca laughed and punched the Brit on the shoulder. Shaun smiled despite himself.

As darkness descended upon the walled city the group filed into the small wooden inn, exhausted. Not one of them noticed the glittering eyes that watched them from the shadows.

The sickle moon climbed high in the Italian heavens over the small town, whose inhabitants and visitors slept peacefully, unaware of the danger that was about to befall them.

The nine travelers had once again divided the rooms. In the interest of saving time, they had only rented two large rooms on the upper floor of the dark inn; three women in one room, the men in the room next door. Both rooms boasted feather mattress beds, carpeted floors and wide windows that looked out onto the street. The night was warmer than it had been in recent weeks, with stagnant, humid air stifling the rooms. As the guys had piled into bed, Desmond had thrown open all three windows along the outside wall, desperate for a breeze. Now snores of various pitches and volume filled the air. If anyone had been awake, it would have been impossible for them to get to sleep.

Harry slept badly that night. Voldemort's voice hissed at him, taunting. "Bow to death, Harry." He struggled against invisible bonds, unable to move. More voices came, a cacophony of sound, screaming in his ears. Hermione's voice, Ron's, Ginny. "Harry, save us!" "What are you doing? Why can't you help?" Blood drenched his hands, white hands that clutched a wand. Someone was screaming, writhing at his feet. A surge of power flowed through his arm, through the wand; sickening joy filled him as he watched the victim convulse and twist, screaming in pain. _Why couldn't he stop? Why did it feel so good?_

A high cold voice whispered into his ear as he watched the figure at his feet writhe. "You're a killer Harry, a murderer". _No_. He struggled against the voice, against the surge of power in his hand. He had to stop it…Tom Riddle's sixteen year old voice, echoing through a dank chamber: "There are strange likenesses between us, Potter." _No,_ a small weak voice insisted. _I'm not like you. I'm not_… but then the image before him changed. In shaking, clean hands he held a cup of glitteringly green poison, offering it to a weakened old man, who lay trustingly in his arms. Dumbledore. _No, I was ordered to…he asked me to_…He fought back against the voice, against the whirl of voices, who were now shouting. The wand was back in his hand, but he pulled against it, shaking with the effort. The flow of power ebbed, the screams died away. All at once, everything went black around him. A woman's face loomed out of the darkness. Its features were gaunt, her eyes hooded and glittering maniacally.

"Boo," Bellatrix said, and Harry shot awake.

He sat up in bed, gasping heavily, his eyes darting to every shadowed corner of the room. The darkness pressed in around him as Harry snatched his glasses and wand from the bedside table. He felt clammy and cold, the heavy sheets soaked in sweat. He pushed back the covers and crept to the window. The moon, which had been obscured by passing clouds, now emerged in the night sky.

Standing at the window sill, still shaking with the memory of that terrible dream, Harry gradually noticed that his scar was aching. It was faint at first, but now that he had noticed, the pain seemed to heighten in its intensity. He closed his eyes, leaning against the smooth wooden wall.

A thump from behind him sent him whirling back around, bringing his wand up.

"Whoa," came Desmond's voice out of the darkness, "It's just me." Harry lowered his wand slowly, too jumpy to be embarrassed about his reaction.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, and as he spoke, he realized that his voice was raspy and hoarse.

"Believe it or not, I'm a light sleeper," Desmond said, not seeing Harry's puzzled look. "That sounded like a wicked nightmare," he added baldly, sounding faintly impressed. Harry felt his face redden. He turned back to the window, not answering. Desmond approached the window as well, leaning his forearms on the open sill. There was a short silence as Desmond watched the stars.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked, sounding uncomfortable with the idea himself.

"No," Harry said shortly. All he really wanted was to be left alone. His scar throbbed angrily.

"Are you sure because-" Desmond began again reluctantly.

"No," Harry insisted tensely. He moved over to the second window. The moon was partially obscured by one of the city buildings from this view. Determined to avoid Desmond's gaze, Harry stared out into the street, trying to distract himself from the lingering images and voices. A shadow flickered in the alleyway just beyond. Harry frowned. Had he imagined it? He strained his senses. Could that be the rustle of a cloak? Harsh whispers? Or was he just being paranoid?

"Desmond," He said cautiously, "Can you see anyone out there?"

"Course not," Desmond replied. "If you haven't noticed, it's pitch black outside."

"I mean, with your eagle vision," Harry said, shaking his head. "I thought that worked at night…"

"Oh," Desmond said. "Well, I feel stupid." He switched on the vision, and swore loudly. All around them, ranged in a half circle and closing in on the Inn were twenty or so red figures, glowing in the darkness like watch fires.

"We've got company," he said, "I can see at least eighteen- all threats. They seem to be wearing cloaks and robes, not armor." He had barely finished his sentence before Harry was across the room, shaking Ron awake.

"Ron!" He shouted in a hoarse whisper. "Death Eaters." Ron jerked upright, grabbing his wand from a nearby table.

"Do they know we're here?" He asked, adrenaline coursing through his body, leaving no room for tiredness.

"I'd say so," Harry said, moving to wake Ezio. "But they might not know that we know they're here. We may be able to catch them off guard. Leave the lights off and keep it down."

"I'll get Hermione," Ron ran for the adjoining door, before Harry stopped him.

"No," He said, "Send Shaun or Leonardo. I need you at the window." Within a minute, the entire group was awake, clustered into the first room. Harry and Ezio were standing beside one another, facing the other seven.

"Okay," Harry said, "We can turn this ambush back on them. Ezio," he turned to the assassin. "Do you have any weapons that can be used from a distance? Throwing knives? Bow and arrow? Crossbow?" The assassin nodded.

"I have a few knives," he said. He pulled out two from his robes, handing them to Lucy and Rebecca.

"Has anyone else got weapons?" Shaun had a pair of daggers that he had picked up in the market, Desmond a crossbow. Harry directed the two over to first and third windows. They would provide cover from above while he, Ezio, Ron and Hermione would fight the Death Eaters face on in the street.

"When you run out of weapons, duck down and head out." Harry said as Hermione handed out heavy gold coins. "These coins are charmed to pass on messages," He explained. "When we're in position, the coin'll heat up and read, "Fire". Hit as many as you can, and then run for it. Stay out of the path of the lights if they shoot at you. Red is a stunning spell- which will knock you out, Green is the Killing curse- anything they throw at you is going to be nasty." All around the grim faces nodded.

"Let's go then." The four of them ran as quietly as they could to the door, and down the stairs. Desmond stared out at the approaching red figures. They were closer now, close enough to distinguish one from the other. He was mildly surprised to see that the leader was a woman. The others were all burly and tall men, but they clearly feared her, following her every order. He frowned, sensing that this was someone who was dangerous. His fingers tightened on the trigger of his crossbow. Beside him, Rebecca murmured, almost too quietly to be heard, "Here's to things getting worse." The gold coin in his pocket glowed red hot, and he smiled as he shot off the first arrow


	15. Chapter 15

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Fifteen

Harry broke out into a run as he watched three Death Eaters fall, an arrow wound in one, two others felled by the thrown daggers protruding from their chests. Without waiting for preamble, he fired off a blasting curse as he ran. The _reducto_ missed the Death Eater he had been aiming at, but struck the ground at his feet, sending the cobbled stones exploding into the air like shrapnel. The night was suddenly lit with dozens of spells flying from everywhere. Flashes of red, green, purple, white, exploded around them like fireworks. He zigzagged as he ran, dodging the curses flying in every direction. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ezio slide out of the fight, pelting to a nearby ladder. The assassin was to navigate the rooftops, try and get around behind the Death Eaters' line. Good.

Harry turned back to the fight, dropping to one knee under the path of blaze of conjured fire. Safe below the inferno, he aimed carefully at the knees of the Death Eater responsible and shouted "Petrificus Totalus!" The fire went out abruptly as the man's limbs snapped to his sides and he fell forward onto the cobbled road, stiff as a board. Harry leapt back to his feet, aiming at the nearest Death Eater. "Stupefy!" The hex was deflected, and Harry was forced to throw up a shield against the next curse. The force of the curse knocked him backwards several feet, but he recovered quickly.

"Sectumsempra!" He shouted, drawing his wand up in a slashing motion. The Death Eater crumpled, blood pouring from the gash that had cut him from hip to shoulder. Harry didn't spare him a second glance as he turned to fire another stunning spell at a Death Eater who had been bearing down on Hermione. His friend smiled in thanks, before her eyes widened. "Duck!" she shouted, and Harry dropped to the ground. Hermione hit the Death Eater behind him in the face with a conjunctivitis curse. Harry jumped back to his feet, nodded in thanks to Hermione and ran after the next opponent.

Meanwhile, Ezio had dropped behind the line of Death Eaters, creeping cat-like up behind his chosen victims. He snuck up behind a Death Eater who had been firing bolts of light at the Ron, and grabbed him, clamping a hand over his mouth and thrusting his hidden-blade into the man's back in a single moment. It was easy to deal with these Death Eaters, he thought absently as the man slid off his knife and collapsed. He turned, aiming a kick at another Death Eater, catching the man in the chest. They didn't even wear armor. He advanced on the gasping Death Eater, following up the kick with a sharp punch to the chest as well. The unsheathed hidden blade stabbed deep between the man's upper ribs and he collapsed.

All around him, the battle seemed to be turning their way. Harry, Ron and Hermione were all fighting furiously against the Death Eaters, slowly overcoming the majority. Desmond was still firing arrows intermittently onto the street below. They were pushing back. The Assassin couldn't help but smile as he head-butted one of the shorter Death Eaters. The bearded man stumbled back and Ezio, pressing his advantage, brought his leg up in a kick that connected with the man's temple, knocking him unconscious.

Ezio turned to find another opponent, but was caught off guard by a woman's voice: "CRUCIO!" Pain like he had never known before, arced through his body. Every inch of his body seemed to burn, stabbed with a thousand knives. Someone was screaming in agony.

All at once, the pain stopped as a nearby blast distracted the witch who had been holding the wand over him. _How had he ended up on the ground? _He scrambled, shaking, to his feet. Harry stood between him and the woman who had cursed him. "Bellatrix," the younger boy snarled, hatred evident in his every syllable. The woman-Bellatrix- smiled widely, her heavily lidded eyes gleaming. She looked half mad as she replied.

"If it isn't the little half-blood ," She sneered. "I look forward to bringing you back to the Dark Lord, Potter." With a sudden movement of her wand, she swept the bodies of the fallen Death Eaters around her out of the way. "Let's play, shall we? You and I." Harry fired a stunning spell at her. She deflected it so fast that he barely had time to raise a shield as it rebounded back at him. He shot off another three spells in quick succession, all of which were deflected, almost carelessly. Her next spell sent a white hot slash of pain across his face.

"I seem to recall our last match, Harry," She said, calmly taking a step toward him, which he matched with a step backwards. "You stood no chance against me then, either. And look," She swept her arm out at the street around them, still advancing. "There is no Dumbledore to save you now. I was so sorry to have missed the old fool's funeral by the way." she added, putting up a shield against his Sectumsempra curse, which rebounded, slashing across his shoulder. "Might I offer my condolences?" With that, she swept her wand up, letting off a string of Dark curses and hexes.

Meanwhile, Hermione and Ron had both conquered the remaining Death Eaters with a paralyzing jinx and a stunning spell respectively. "Ron." Hermione said, terror evident in her voice as she watched Harry twist and dodge out of the way of Bellatrixes' curses. He was being forced back, too busy to do more than shielding spells or duck. He fell. The two Gryffindors pelted forward to help. The flashes of the spells bearing down on Harry lit up the street, illuminating the dark form of the Assassin. Ezio had grabbed a nearby beam of wood, creeping silently behind Bellatrix, who was focused entirely on Harry. "Crucio!" she crowed, and in that instant, Ezio struck, bringing the makeshift club down across the back of the woman's head. It was only due to his residual weakness that the witch did not collapse immediately. But she was knocked forwards, nearly falling. Harry didn't waste a second.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" He shouted, catching her across the face. Bellatrix shrieked as blood spattered the road. The witch glared at him with loathing out of her remaining eye, then, before anyone could move, she disapparated with a crack that echoed through the ruined street.

The four remained transfixed for almost half a minute, surrounded by the silence, the bodies and debris of the fight. The ghost of the lights that had flashed and flared seemed burned into the insides of his eyelids as Harry lay crouched on the ground, gasping. Ron was the first to pull himself together.

"We need to clean up," he said, his voice echoing in the darkness. All at once the Lucy, Desmond, Shaun, and Rebecca came bursting out of the Inn door, startling them all.

"Are you okay?" Demanded Rebecca as she skidded to a halt where the four fighters had leapt to their feet. "That was…are you hurt?"

"Let's get inside," Lucy suggested, staring up and down the dark street. "They might come back."

"No," Harry said, swaying where he stood. Hermione put a hand out to steady him. "Bellatrix is the one who was leading everything. If she's wounded, they won't be coming back tonight."

"Okay," Lucy said, "but you guys were hurt- you need to be taken care of." With that, she grasped Ezio's arm and, ignoring his grimace, pulled him back into the Inn, while the rest followed. They collapsed in the boy's room, sitting on the edges of the beds. Shaun handed around glasses of red wine, to help with the shock and the pain of their various injuries, saying, "Well, it's not scotch, but it'll have to do."

"We need to clean up the Death Eaters outside," Harry insisted as Lucy inspected the cut which ran from his shoulder almost halfway down his arm. She ignored him in favor of muttering, "We're going to need something to bandage this."

"Oh for Heaven's Sake," Harry said, annoyed with her fussing, the fading adrenaline fraying his nerves. "Get me Hermione's bag." When Lucy opened her mouth to protest, he added, "She has a healing potion in there."

"Why didn't you say so?" Rebecca muttered, grabbing Hermione's bag from off the bed beside the bushy-haired girl and tossed it to Harry, who made the mistake of catching it with his injured arm.

"Argh." He gasped in pain, dropping the beaded bag, which hit the floor with the familiar disproportionate THUMP. "It's in there," he said through gritted teeth, as Lucy snatched it up and rifled through it. "Labeled _Essence of Dittany_."

The vial was passed around the room, as each person tended to their various injuries. It was easy to see how tired and anxious the group was; there was barely any exclamation of wonder as the potion sealed cuts and scrapes instantly. Thankfully, none of them had suffered any broken bones; the Dittany would have been useless against them. Ezio was still shaking and sore from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus curse, however. Hermione wasn't sure whether the Dittany would be of any use against the tremors. She suggested that the Assassin get some sleep.

"That's probably the best way. I mean, when Harry was kidnapped by Voldemort, he was just given a sleeping potion. When he got back to the hospital wing," she explained as the Assassin looked confused. "Look, I don't think there is any potion for curing the Cruciatus Curse."

Ezio swore under his breath, but lay back on the bed. "We're going to need to assign watch," was all he said before he dropped off to sleep. Hermione watched him sympathetically for a few seconds before moving to the window.

"Ron? Desmond? Shaun?" She asked, looking down onto the wreckage below. "Could you three go down and take care of the Death Eaters below? And Ron? Can you try to fix up the street?"

"Sure," Ron said quietly, coming over to drop a kiss onto her forehead, before marching out the door.

"He _must_ be upset," she said with a small smile as she watched him go. She turned back to Harry. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," He insisted, trying to push Lucy away. The blond was still hovering over him, trying to see if he'd been injured anywhere else. "Are you?"

"Nothing serious," She said, moving to sit down next to him on the bed, leaning against him. Harry laid an arm across her shoulders. "Were any of you injured?" she added to Rebecca and Lucy.

"We didn't have time to get hurt," Rebecca said, shaking her head. "They barely bothered with us. We saw the whole thing though." She shook her head again. "_Nasty_."

"Hmm," Hermione agreed, closing her eyes. Tired as she was, she had fallen asleep before Rebecca's next words reached her.

"Still," the engineer said, with a shrug of her shoulders, "we survived. Go us." 


	16. Chapter 16

B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Sixteen

The next day was gray. Gray sky, gray water, grey grass, grey everything. It was as if the land felt just as melancholy as the group of nine as they made their way to the boat, their footsteps thudding on the wooden deck. Though they had spent some time preparing, the Death Eaters did not return. Ezio sheepishly let Leonardo out of the cellar, where he had locked him in before the attack. The inventor was quite grumpy, but recognized it was for his own safety.

"If Leonardo da Vinci had been killed in a Death Eater raid," Shaun shook his head sadly, "what would have become of the world then?"

The group stopped in front of the modestly small boat, fitted with a deck and cabin that could fit about ten passengers.

"Tutti a bordo!" A sailor shouted, ringing a bell, "First boat to Venezia!"

"I guess…" Harry said slowly as Leonardo went up to the sailor to give over the papers, "I guess this is it."

"Are you sure this will work, Rebecca?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Positive," the engineer nodded.

"Everyone," Ezio announced, "I wou-"

"Ezio!" Leonardo interrupted the Assassin, who sent him a death glare, "where's your pass?"

The Italian suddenly looked dumbfounded.

"…what pass?" Ezio replied dumbly, turning to the artist in wonder.

"AUGH!" The groan ran through the whole group as realization hit.

"You mean we came all this way to get back," Ron cried, "and we can't go home because Ezio forgot his BLOODY PASS?"

"Hey, hey!" Ezio frowned, "don't worry! I'll think of something!"

"You'd better!" the red head groaned.

The assassin shrugged, adjusting his cape, and set off.

"So when they board the boat," Hermione reviewed, "the animus will reboot."

"Yep," Rebecca nodded, "and we should all be sent back to the apartment."

"Even the Death Eaters?" Harry asked worriedly.

Rebecca shook her head, "Possibly, but there's no real way to know for sure. I mean," she paused, "you guys might just end up where ever you came from."

"Let's hope," Ron grumbled.

"Either way," Lucy said loudly, calling everyone's attention, "this is going to be our last chance to say goodbye."

"I'd rather wait until Ezio gets back!" Leonardo quickly cut in.

There was an exchanging of lifted eyebrows, but nothing was said.

In a remarkably short amount of time the Italian Assassin had returned anyway, with a rather regal looking red head by his side. The two stopped in front of the sailor and the woman inhaled sharply. She then began to scream at the poor man loudly in Italian, and used many words that would…well, make a sailor blush. When she was finished the sailor bowed respectfully and apologies came tumbling from his quivering mouth. The woman nodded curtly and then turned back to Ezio, flashing a flirty smile.

"You can't be serious," Ron moaned, "How can he think of GIRLS at a time like this?"

"He's Ezio," Shaun gritted, "he shares common blood with this idiot." He gestured lightly to Desmond.

"Hey!" Desmond looked offended, but before any arguments could start, Ezio returned.

"It's done," he announced, "we are now free to board the boat."

There was a silence and nobody moved.

Lucy was the first to take a step forward. She approached Harry and locked her icy blues eyes with his crystal green ones.

"I have to admit," she smiled, "at first I thought you were nothing but a stupid, arrogant kid."

Harry laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Ron," Hermione nudged the wizard gently. He gulped, but nodded. The red head approached Leonardo slowly and carefully, but eventually he caught the inventor's eye.

"Leonardo," he began, "I am deeply sorry for what I've said or done to hurt you this past week. I really didn't mean any harm, I just…get upset sometimes," he paused, "Can you forgive me?"

Leonardo looked up at the teenager and for a moment his expression was completely blank. Then he fastened his arms around Ron's shoulders and began sobbing hysterically.

"I think that's a yes," Hermione sighed in relief.

"So," Harry said to Ezio.

"So," Ezio replied, exhaling.

There was a silence while the two men studied each other. While Ezio was the taller of the two he seemed to lack some of the younger man's aura of determination. Brown and green eyes locked. Finally, Ezio spoke.

"You take good care of them," he commented, gesturing to Hermione, who was prying Leonardo off Ron, "I never expected to see such leadership in someone so young."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "Me neither."

"This is goodbye then." Ezio said, looking away.

"You guys'll visit us sometime, right?" Rebecca asked hopefully, wiping a tear from her eye.

Harry laughed again, "we'll certainly try our best."

"Yeah, and who knows?" Shaun smiled genuinely, "we may see each other in England sometime."

"If you see any other Assassins, say 'hi' to them for us!" Rebecca wailed as she latched onto Hermione.

"Tutti a bordo! Tutti a bordo! The boat is leaving shortly!" the sailor announced again, ringing his bell.

"Give a shoutout to us sometime, Ezio," Desmond told his ancestor jokingly, "we'll hear you."

"You will hear me," Ezio frowned, "but there will be no way for you to reply?"

"I don't know about that," Lucy grinned, "I'm sure Rebecca will figure something out."

"Ezio!" Hermione waved and ran over to the Assassin after finally managing to liberate Ron, "I wanted to say thank you for-"

It was all the opening he needed. The Italian bent down and covered the witch's lips with his own. It was only for a second or two, but the kiss was sweet and beautiful.

"Madonna," he purred.

"He-HEY!" Ron shouted, "you can't do that!"

' Ezio laughed and shrugged, backing onto the boat. Hermione stood rooted to the planks. Leonardo followed in tow after handing out a sufficient amount of hugs and tears. Rebecca cheered and waved as the boat separated itself from the dock and slowly drifted away, the faces of their two friends shrinking in the distance. Slowly the horizon faded away, as well as the docks and the entire group was shrouded in a hot white cloud…

A/N: Italian Translation

Tutti a bordo: All aboard

Madonna: My Lady


	17. Chapter 17

Epilogue

The glaring orange posters, wall, and bedspread of Ron's room were the first things to loom out of the enveloping whiteness. The three wizards had landed precisely and conveniently in the top floor of the burrow. Bleak, early morning sunshine streamed through the window.

Harry looked around the low-ceilinged room, grinning. "I never thought I'd ever be so happy to see the Canons," he said, eyeing the quidditch posters around the room, whose inhabitants waved maniacally back. "That was…"

"Completely uncalled for," Ron said, rounding on Hermione. "He had no right to kiss you," He said.

"Oh stop it, Ron," Hermione said patiently, "It's not like we're ever going to see him again." The three fell into silence.

"I guess we won't," Harry said regretfully. He dropped onto the cot that had been set up for him beside Ron's bed. Hermione sank down onto Ron's bed, picking at the worn covers. They sat there contemplatively for nearly a full minute. Then Hermione straightened her shoulders and checked her watch.

"Come on," she said, "It's nearly six. I expect your mother will appreciate some help making breakfast." She dug in her robes, and pulled out the beaded bag she had been carrying around. Then she froze, staring at the bag.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I think…" she tore the neck of the purse open. There, where the others had forgotten to collect them, were stuffed several of Leonardo's crates and all that the group had purchased on their last day in Forli. "Oh Shi-"

The Assassins were surprised to see the hideout was relatively wizard-free when it appeared. Everything was just as it had been left, as if the entire event had never happened. Even Baby was running perfectly.

"Well," Shaun clapped, "I think it's best we all get back to work. Shall we?"

The historian sat back at his desk at the far end of the room, Lucy went back to file reports at her desk, and Desmond, wisely deciding to give the animus a break, helped Rebecca organize the Animus's memory sequencing device.

"You know," Lucy began slyly after two hours of silent working, "I think I'm gonna miss those kids."

"Yeah, now Shaun's the only one with a British accent," Rebecca muttered, clipping one of Baby's wires. Desmond took a sip of coffee and meandered over to the bookshelf by Shaun's desk.

"Oh do shut up, Beccar," Shaun hissed, "I did enjoy having a few more blokes from the homestead around though…"

"Got any good titles in here, Shaun?" Desmond asked distractedly as his eyes scanned the shelf.

"Nothing that would interest you, Desmond," Shaun replied effortlessly, "Most of those books are only for beings with an IQ greater than that of a dog."

Desmond felt his jaw drop as he spotted a familiar name.

Shaun heard the younger man gasp and grew uneasy.

"Look, Desmond that's not-"

"Guys, look at this!"

Desmond had yanked the thick paperback from the shelf dramatically and threw it on Shaun's desk. The group of four peered at it in wonder.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?" Rebecca read aloud.

"You don't think it could possibly be-" Lucy began, eyes widening.

Desmond only grinned.


End file.
